An eco friendly way to make your own merchandise hang tags out of an ordinary cereal box.

The goods:
Microsoft Word or another label creating program
8 1/2 X 11 inch piece of scrap book paper
lightweight cardboard (I sacrifice cereal boxes)
printer
hole punch
yarn or string
spray adhesive

Open up Microsoft Word. Click on "mailings" and then "labels". Double click on the label selections to see all of the pre-designed options available. You will need to play around with the label offerings to determine what size and shape will be best for your items. I personally select the Avery 8660 option and adjust the height and width to the size I am needing. The labels shown are approximately 1.22" in height and 3" in width. Remember, this will ultimately determine the number of labels that will print per page. Click, "OK". Next, go ahead and start filling in your text and format it to your specifications. When you are done, click "new document". This will apply your text to the format created in the first step. Here you can highlight the document if need be and adjust the font, size, color, etc to your liking.

When you are finished with the above steps, I suggest running a "print preview" and verifying that no text is bleeding into another section. Once you are happy with the layout, you are ready to print. Insert your scrapbook paper into your printer making sure your print is the right side up and begin your print job. Once complete, allow your ink to dry about 10 minutes before moving on to the next step. In the mean time, cut  your cardboard to an 8 1/2  X  11 inch piece.

In a well ventilated area, throw down some newspaper and place your resized cardboard on top. Keep the printed side down which will become the back side of your tags. Spray the cardboard with a generous amount of spray adhesive, and allow it to get tacky, about 1-3 minutes. Place the cardboard sticky side up on a flat surface such as a table, and working quickly, place the printed scrap book paper, print side up, on top. Smooth you hands over it creating a bond until both pieces are flush. Allow to dry before going to the next step.

Now that your cardboard and scrapbook paper are adhered, you will need to cut your tags apart. I use a yard stick and a rotary cutter on my self healing mat. ( any straight edge and hard surface will work )  I find the point where I want to mark my cuts and line them up against my yard stick and run my rotary cutter down the edge of the stick. Repeat this for each row of labels both horizontally and vertically. Now you will be left with a stack of tags. Grab your hole punch and punch a hole in the end of the tag where your text begins. Using yarn or string, make a loop and thread it through the hole. Tie it off at the ends to secure. Repeat for the remaining tags.