Gift Wrapping Ideas!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
creatively use our packaging products?

Take a look at our new blog,

A Beautifully Wrapped Life here

 

Hello Everyone!

With the Christmas season in full swing, it's time to think about wrapping your gifts (which you've already bought, right?!). At the Essential Packaging Store we're brimming with fantastic gift wrapping options! We also like to share new products and ideas with our customers through our Store Newsletter.

 

For the month of December, we've put out 3 newsletters that will inspire you to think creatively about holiday gift wrapping. These newsletters are now on the Essential Packaging Store website. Browse through each newsletter to see new ways to wrap up gifts of food, wine bottles, gift baskets, gift boxes and so much more!


All of us here at The Essential Packaging Store would like to wish all of our customers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Connect with Essential Packaging-
- visit our website at www.essentialpackaging.com
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Wrap Up Those Gift Baskets!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
put together a gift basket?

Take a look at our post-

How To Wrap A Gift Basket 
In 8 Easy Steps  here 

It's on our new blog A Beautifully Wrapped Life!

!

Hello and Season's Greetings!
Yup, that Christmas season is definitely upon us! Here at Essential Packaging that means a steady flow of customers wanting to create fabulous gift baskets. Today I had a customer who needed to get some wrapping for a Family Fun gift basket that she'd created. I asked her if we could do a blog post on it so other customers could see!

I loved her idea - the basket was filled with board games, cards and snacks! We added some red basket shred in the bottom for cushioning and color. Now came the fun part of finding the best way to wrap it up!

Because the basket was so big, it didn't fit into our largest 26" x 40" clear cello basket bag. And, because the basket was also quite wide, our widest 40" cello wrap on a roll also didn't fit. Argh!! So, what did we do? Well, when all else fails, you use 2 lengths of cell wrap, from the roll, and you place them side by side to make it wider! This will work for most large baskets. It will help to have an extra pair of hands for this!!! This is what the basket looked like after we gathered it all up.

Now that all the cello wrap was gathered up, we trimmed the top so it wouldn't look so floppy. Please remember to do this step!! It makes your baskets look so much better!!

Then all we had to do was add the ribbon bow, that we made out of satin and sheer ribbons. Voila!! The customer loved the finished product! So, this holiday season, try your hand at making a beautiful and creative gift basket for someone special on your list!

See you soon!

Connect with Essential Packaging-
- visit our website at www.essentialpackaging.com
- like us on Facebook
- follow us on Twitter
- see us on Pinterest

Cookie Packaging Feature!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
creatively use our packaging products?

Take a look at our new blog,

A Beautifully Wrapped Life here

Hello everyone!
We did this cookie packaging post 2 years ago but it still remains one of our customers' favorites. It's so easy to do yet looks like you really went to a lot of effort. Here's the original post.

This cookie packaging post was also recently featured on the blog, The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle. Check out her post to see other fantastic and creative ways to package your cookies this holiday season.

See you soon!

Connect with Essential Packaging-
- visit our website at www.essentialpackaging.com
- like us on Facebook
- follow us on Twitter
- see us on Pinterest

Back To School Lunch Bags!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
creatively use our packaging products?

Take a look at our new blog,

A Beautifully Wrapped Life here

Yup, it's back-to-school time again which means it's back-to-lunch time as well! This year, why not try something new with your lunch bags? Try personalizing your bags with your each family member's name or image. It's easy for anyone to do, even the kids can help out.

Start with a plain paper grocery bag, in either white or natural kraft colour. Choose a size that suits your needs (small kids, big appetite, large bag...!)

For Dad's lunch, we used our alphabet and Dad stick figure stamps to decorate the front of the bag. We added some "manly-looking" polka dot ribbon to secure the top of the bag so his yummy lunch wouldn't fall out!

Here's the same lunch bag but in white with red ink and ribbon. Be as creative as you wish, adding accents like stickers, punches, markers and the like. No matter what you do, your family will know you cared to make their lunch extra special!

Connect with Essential Packaging-
- visit our website at www.essentialpackaging.com
- like us on Facebook
- follow us on Twitter
- see us on Pinterest

Paper Bag Easter Baskets!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
creatively use our packaging products?

Take a look at our new blog,

A Beautifully Wrapped Life here

Welcome everyone and Happy Easter!! To get ready for the big day, we created this quick and easy project that even the kids can help you with - paper bag Easter baskets!

These Easter baskets can be made from any size paper grocery bag, in either white, natural or color. This white bag is a 4 lb. size (5" wide x 3 1/8" side gusset x 9 3/4" tall). We used grosgrain ribbon to decorate the handle, some green sheer Asiana ribbon for the bow and a white fluffy boa bow for the center.

The natural bag in this photo is a 2 lb. size (4" wide x 2 1/2" side gusset x 8 1/4" tall). To decorate the handle we added a satin ribbon

Here are 2 more samples, without any extra ribbons, that can be left plain or can even be painted on. The smaller natural bag in this photo is a 1/2 lb. size (3" wide x 1 3/4" side gusset x 5 1/8" tall) and the larger one is the 2lb. size.

To start making your paper bag Easter baskets, cut off a portion of the top of the bag; how much you trim off is up to you as this trimmed piece will become the handle. Also, the more you cut off the smaller your bag will be (translation: less goodies will fit into a smaller bag!!) For the bag on the right, we used scalloped scissors to make a fancy handle.

Cut open one side of the paper handle and lay it out flat.

Fold over one length of the paper handle, then the other length; this will strengthen your handle and give it a nicer edge. You can glue or tape the flap down.

The bottom handle in the photo will be what the underside of the handle will look like. The top handle is what it will look like from the outside when you attach it to your basket.

Attach either end of the paper handle to the inside gussets of the paper bag. You can adjust the length of the handle by attaching it lower or higher up in the bag. Use glue or double sided tape to attach the handle.

And viola! You now have a paper bag Easter basket ready for decoration, filling and enjoying!!

We hope enjoyed this fun project and will try it out for Easter!

Tissue paper Flowers - Mini Version!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
make tissue paper flowers?

Take a look at our how-to post here

one our new blog,

A Beautifully Wrapped Life here

Hello everyone!
We, the Staff at Essential Packaging, love making beautiful tissue paper flowers as much as our customers do! They really are so easy to make and yet they look so impressive. We've had customers make large tissue flowers as decor pieces for baby and bridal showers, weddings and birthdays and small ones for gift wrapping and table decor. For this project, we decided to make mini versions so we could put them on party favors. The possibilities are endless!

For the baby shower favor, we used a 3"x3"x3" giftware box in pink, with blue satin ribbon and a custom printed tag. The mini tissue flower was made from a pale floral patterned tissue paper.

For the bridal shower favor we used the same 3"x3"x3" giftware  in the kiwi green color, pink satin ribbon
and a band of the bright floral tissue paper that we also used for the tissue flower.

To make the mini tissue flowers, begin by cutting your 20" x 30" full sheet of tissue into pieces that are about 3 1/2" wide x 5 1/2" long. You can cut through several sheets at a time. Make a stack of 6-8 layers (we used 8 in this sample to make a fuller flower). Starting at one end, fan / accordion fold the tissue paper until the whole piece is folded.

Once you've folded all the tissue sheets, tie a length of tinsel cord around the center; make sure it's snug but not too tight so it tears the tissue paper. Trim the ends of the tissue so it looks more flower-like. Now gently pull each layer of tissue towards the top center to form your flower.

Now all you have to do is attach the tissue flower to your favor box and you're all set! Since tissue paper comes in a rainbow of colors and patterns, you can make your flowers to suit any occasion or decor.

We hope you enjoyed this post and will try this project for your next special occasion!

Easter Treat Bag!

UPDATE: 

Want to learn more about how to 
creatively use our packaging products?

Take a look at our new blog,

A Beautifully Wrapped Life here

Hi everyone!

 Easter may seem a little ways off still (and the cold rainy weather isn't helping to convince us otherwise!) but we thought this would be a great project you do ahead of time. A plain white grocery bag an be transformed into a cute treat/gift bag for friends, family or guests AND a fun coloring craft to occupy the kids!

To begin making your Easter treat bag, download an image that you like. Check your margins (in relation to your grocery bag size) to ensure your egg will print in the center of your grocery bag. For this project, we used a 4lb. grocery bag that measures 5" wide x 9 3/4 tall".

Before you insert your bag into the printer, tape the open end closed with a low tack tape. This will prevent any bags jamming up inside the printer. We always recommend testing your printer with a few practice bags to see how they'll print.

Once you've printed your Easter treat bags (and you're using an ink jet printer) let them dry for a little bit so the ink doesn't smudge (this will not be an issue with a laser printer). Now they're ready for coloring!!

Have an assortment of crayons, colored pencils, markers, stickers or any other fun embellishment the kids can use to decorate their treat bags. And that's it!

We hope you enjoyed this post and that you'll try this fun and easy Easter treat bag project this year!