cherishables: Package Deal

Monday, October 8, 2012

Package Deal

As I prepare for this year's Fall craft shows, I'm reflecting on the shows I've attended in the past -- both as a seller (grand total = 1! lol) and as a buyer. Attending as a buyer has brought me great experience as there are always things you would like to emulate and, possibly, things to avoid.

I'm really trying to "build my brand" and am carefully considering things like signs and, most recently, packaging.

I still have bags from last year, and I like them, so I'm good with larger purchases like purses. Now that I have some smaller items, like jewelry, I wanted to make sure those are packaged well. I thought about printing labels and putting them on little craft bags to mimic my larger shopping bags and, until I was in the craft store last night, that was exactly what I was going to do. Then I saw this stamp...

and I just had to buy it. I mean, how perfect is this?? Handmade goodies really are something special and I think, sometimes, we forget that. Sometimes we get caught up in the mindset that handmade = cheap when, in fact, quite often the opposite is true.

My items take time. Not just time to make (which they do) but also time to find or create the right pattern. Time to try out different techniques and stitches. Time to find the right yarn. Time to finish the project so that it looks professional.

Now, I admit, I'm not one of those people who scrapbooks or makes their own cards. I don't buy stamps or use ink pads. I had no idea about what to buy or what the different inks would look like. But I jumped right in anyway and came home with the stamp and an ink pad that looked pretty close to the blue on my business cards (it's not, but that's okay!)

My idea was to stamp this on to the small kraft bags I bought for jewelry purchases. So, I got to stamping.

If you've not used a stamp and ink pad before, here's one thing I learned. Place the inked stamp on the paper, don't drag it. Resist the urge to press too hard on the stamp -- you may have ink on the handle which will transfer to the paper. Instead, gently rock the stamp to make sure the entire image has transferred.

The ink dries very quickly, so I was able to stamp & stack the envelopes. I had 100 done in no time at all!

I really like how the bags came out, but I still wanted the Cherishables name on the package. So I went through my stuff and came up with a way to package these smaller items as gifts. A little ribbon, and one of my new Cherishables tags (with To/From on the back) and instant gift! I'm really liking these.