Create a Gift Bag from a Magazine!

I've been toying with many ideas for bags I can use to package my products in after a sale. I've always used paper bags, both for the environment and to promote/coincide with my paper goods. When I could avoid to do so, I reused bags instead of purchasing them and have used everything from spiced-up brown lunch bags to kraft bags to my DSP bags found here. This is a new venture for me - bags created from old magazines… and what better magazine than the oh-so-inspirational catalogues from Stampin' Up! ?! :)

This is certainly not a new idea, but this bag design is all me. It uses two catalogue pages and I don't even want to admit how many pages I went through before I finally designed something that worked and that I liked!

Three important factors I needed in my design - that it folded flat (for transporting & storage), it was sturdy enough to hold a good amount of product & that it was still 100% recyclable if the recipient didn't want to hang on to it (no staples!).

I'm just so thrilled with my what I came up with. I'm excited that I don't have to just throw all my old magazines into the recycling bin and that I can both advertise my Stampin' Up! business and my love for paper good products with this packaging.

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Brown Bagging It!

I'm just about to pack up and head to a show - the Conestoga Lodge Spring Bazaar, 55 Hugo Crescent in Kitchener, Ontario - come see me if you live in the area! ;)

Anyway, I'm always looking for crafty ways to package my products for customers. I don't like to use plastic bags if I can help it (in my everyday life and my business) and don't want to invest lots of money for some boring paper bag. So, with a little money (and sometimes a lot of time. ha.) I make my bags or jazz them up in some way. Check this one out:

Just like my business card, the bags are my source of advertisement when I'm not there. When I'm at a show and customers start walking around with these handcrafted shopping bags, they may get stopped and asked about it. It's just one more way I show my craftiness and care in the quality of products I sell.

I simply cut a plain-old brown paper lunch bag, added some DSP & twine for the handles. I came up with the smart and thrifty idea to add some reinforcement tabs to the holes to make the bag extra strong. I had this bag hanging for days with at least a couple pounds of product in it and nothing gave way!

Until next time (maybe today at my show?), stay crafty!
Steph