Category: Oh My! Sponsors

Creative Bag: Good things come in pretty packaging

{A sponsored post by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag}

Creative Bag, DIY Packaging

I left my corporate day job in 2005 to purse my dream of starting my own creative business. While working for over twenty years as a visual merchandiser and marketing director for a number of large retail companies, I learned a couple of valuable lessons about selling anything.

First, more often than not, customers are driven to purchase something not because it is needed but because it was packaged so nicely that they had to have it. And secondly, your packaging is an important part of your branding story and the way you choose to package your products says a lot about your business.

When I started purchasing packaging materials for my own creative business ten years ago Creative Bag was my “secret” resource. I approached Creative Bag in the fall of 2011 with the concept of collaborating on some creative projects and I ended up working as creative blogger and packaging expert for them. Honesty, I feel like I’m in my happy place whenever I walk into a Creative Bag store.

Creative Bag, DIY Packaging

Creative Bag is a family owned business from Toronto, Canada that has been supplying custom bags and packaging supplies to retailers, advertisers and marketing companies for over thirty years. Whether you are just starting out and need to purchase creative packaging supplies that you can DIY into something special for your small business or you are ready to invest in custom packaging for a growing business – Creative Bag is your packaging resource. You will find a vast selection of packaging products like bags, boxes, wrapping paper, tissue, ribbon, twine and so much more at Creative Bag’s three retail stores in the GTA and online. If you are looking to save money, most products offer discounts on larger volume purchases.

Creative Bag, DIY Packaging

Your product packaging will be the first thing your customer sees if you are selling on Etsy and your own website, or the last thing your customer remembers if you are selling at craft fairs and markets. You don’t have to use expensive supplies to create great looking packaging. It’s amazing what you can do with custom stickers, stamps and baker’s twine to embellish something as simple as a kraft box or bag.

Creative Bag, DIY Packaging

Magazines approach us every month to feature our products in editorials and DIY projects. I have been invited to appear on local television shows and to take part in workshops and YouTube videos to demonstrate DIY projects using Creative Bag products.

Creative Bag, DIY Packaging

Creative Bag has just launched their new and improved website and is celebrating this week with daily giveaways and product specials. Today is all about doing-it-yourself! Our daily giveaway includes a tote bag that I created filled with lots of DIY goodies that can be used for a display or photo shoot, a Brit + Co diy Ecourse of your choice and a copy of Brit’s new “Homemakers” book. Select DIY products and tissue paper are today’s online specials. Check our website and blog daily for more opportunities to win and save. You can join the Creative Bag email list on our website for weekly updates on new products and special offers.

Creative Bag, DIY Packaging
 

If you are looking for packaging inspiration, follow me on the Creative Bag blog for packaging projects and simple how to tutorials. You’ll also find lots of great packaging and branding ideas on our Pinterest boards and, of course, on the Creative Bag Facebook page.

About Lorrie Everitt

Lorrie EverittI have always led a creative life. With the encouragement of my parents and grandmothers, I learned to craft and sew at a very young age. I graduated from university with a degree in art history and from college with diploma in graphic design. If I’m not creating something I’m working out the details on what I’m going to do next. You will always see me with my camera bag, a blank note book and a fine tip black pen. My computer is my best friend and I spend way too much time on Pinterest. I prefer to read books that teach me something and magazines with lots of DIY projects and visual inspiration.

I enjoyed working for many years in retail as a Visual Merchandising and Marketing Director for a number of fashion and home decor companies. I learned a lot during that time and it gave me the background and connections that I needed to become a branding and marketing consultant, to design products lines for retail businesses and to license my art to giftware companies.

I started a small online business with a close friend that specialized in customizing stationery products that I designed. I love to do workshops and teach mixed media art classes – when I have time. I have sold my handmade products and jewellery making kits on Etsy and in local stores.

My projects have been featured on websites such as Buzzfeed and in magazines such as Somerset Studio’s GreenCraft and Weddingbells. I still dream about someday publishing a DIY creative book although the three “CreativeLiving” (online) magazines that I created for Creative Bag last Christmas came very close to making that dream come true.

When I am not blogging for Creative Bag you can find me posting creative ideas on my personal blog at Lorrie Everitt Studio or planning new things to make and do with my family and friends.

 website |  blog | pinterest | facebook | twitter

Oh My! Gift Guide: Book Week

Oh My! Gift Guide | Book Week

This holiday season, we’ve asked some of our favourite creatives, bloggers, makers and OMHG members to join us in rounding up great gift ideas. This week, we’re all about books – books for little people, books for big people, books for creative people. Books, books, books! Make sure to read all the way to the bottom of the post, where you’ll find a fun surprise! But first, here are the books we think will make great gifts this holiday season:

Show Your Work

Kim’s Pick –  Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

“Showing off what we make – for fun, for sale, for other people – is the way we get our creations noticed. Artist and writer Austin Kleon lays it all out in this tiny, perfect book: why sharing is important, and how to do it so it makes you happy. This book would be a great gift for anyone you know who makes stuff, especially if they blog about it, do it for a living, or want to blog about it or do it for a living.” – Kim Werker is an editor, writer, and podcaster, and the author of Make It Mighty Ugly.

JuliaChildRecipeCard

Lyndsay’s Pick – Julia, Child by Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad

“This is a magical book of two little girls cooking their way to understanding the world. My two year old son and I both love it equally. It shows them making terrible mistakes in the kitchen (fallen tiered cakes, escaping octopus tentacles, burnt fish) and then continuing to learn and try, eventually coming up with beautiful simple french dishes that give adults back their sense of childhood. It’s a story of friendship, cooking and discovery. The illustrations are what makes the book truly special – Julie Morstad is an artist and illustrator and I’ve always loved the vintage children’s book feel of her artwork. I also simply adored any books with drawings of food or cakes or dessert when I was a kid – they’re the books from my childhood that stand out, so I hope this one will stand out for my son when he looks back.” – Lyndsay is a baker, blogger, freelance writer and photographer. Her main focus is Coco Cake Land, a modern cake and desserts blog featuring original cake tutorials, recipes and simple modern party ideas. She lives in Vancouver amongst the mountains, ocean and urban life with her husband and toddler son.  

lettering books

Shauna’s PickCreative Lettering and Beyond & Hand-Lettering Ledger

“Creative Lettering and Beyond is a great beginner’s how-to guide to learning lettering. (Though I’m a bit biased as this is my book!) And the Hand Lettering Ledger by the super talented Mary Kate McDevitt is one of my favorites in terms of inspiration. I love looking at her gorgeous lettering and love that she shows how-to steps.” – Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn is a hand lettering artist and illustrator living in Orlando, Florida. She loves vintage typography and emphemera and has an unhealthy obsession with purchasing books that she doesn’t have room for. Her work can be seen at www.shaunaparmesan.com and prints can be purchased at www.shaunapanczyszyn.etsy.com

Easy Gourmet

Marisa’s PickEasy Gourmet by Stephanie Le

“I love pretty much all kinds of books but I have a serious weakness for beautiful cookbooks. Easy Gourmet is filled with tantalizing taste combinations and stunning pictures that will leave your stomach growling. From the simple to the sublime, the spaghetti to the shrimp rolls, Stephanie’s recipes challenge you to get creative in the kitchen while producing gourmet dishes that don’t need to be saved for special occasions. I think this book would be a wonderful addition to any cookbook collection.” – Marisa Edghill is the author of Washi Style (UK edition / US edition) and a featured artist in Pinterest Perfect. 

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Jessika’s Pick – Goodness in Unexpected Places gift pack from House of Anansi Press

“Marisa tweeted me a link to this set last month and I immediately bought the books for my 10 year old Ila but also so I could read them first. The Cat At The Wall by Deborah Ellis is about a little girl who finds herself reincarnated as a cat into a Palestine village in a house with a small boy who needs help and finds the answer to how one cat, or any one creature, can make a difference. In A Simple Case of Angels by Caroline Adderson it is the holidays but no one in Nicola’s town seems very happy. After her dog gets in trouble Nicola winds up volunteering at a local seniors home with a friend and they find out some of the residents are being held against their will. Freeing them brings out the very best in both Nicola and her badly behaved dog June Bug. Both of these books will make hearts of any age grow three sizes bigger, all filled up with goodness, giving, and grace.” Jessika is the cooperative director of Oh My! Handmade, learn more about her here

Creative Block

Shauna’s Bonus PickCreative Block: Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas by Danielle Krysa

“This is a go-to book for sure. I love this because it makes me feel less alone when I get artist block as well as giving me ideas on how to push past those blocks.” Filled with advice and projects from 50 successful artists, this would make a wonderful pick for artists and creatives in your life.

See more books we love over on our Pinterest board!

But wait, before you go – a special announcement! To spread our love for Books, we’re declaring this week Book Week! We’ve teamed up with publishers and purveyors of awesome things to bring you a week of giveaways. Each day we’ll be sharing a new and exciting giveaway! Here’s a hint of what’s to come and where to find it…

Oh My! Book Week | 5 Days of Bookish Giveaways

Monday – that’s today! See details below.

Tuesday – Does colouring bring you great Joy? Find Tuesday’s giveaway over on the Oh My! Handmade Instagram account.

Wednesday – While Pinterest might not be perfect, it is bursting with creative inspiration. Wednesday’s giveaway will be found on our Pinterest Books Board.

Thursday – Making doesn’t always have to be pretty, in fact, sometimes it’s better when it’s ugly. Join us on Facebook on Thursday for this mighty fun giveaway.

Friday – A special surprise for one and all! Make sure you’re following Jessika on Twitter so you don’t miss out on the fun!

Oh My! Book Week | Day 1: Creative Lettering & Beyond + Jet Pens Sampler - enter on ohmyhandmade.com

We’re giving away a copy of Creative Lettering and Beyond featuring our very own Shauna Lynn + a set of 5 brush pens from Jet Pens * – Shauna’s favourite pens for lettering!

*In case of a Canadian winner, Jet Pens prize will be a $25 gift certificate.

Giveaway open to US / Canada only. Winners chosen at random on Monday, December 22.

Enter here by letting us know your favourite books for gifting (or a book you’d love to receive!) in the comments. Get an extra entry for sharing one of our giveaway graphics on your website, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!

This giveaway is now closed – Congratulations to Catherine Denton for her winning comment! 

Special thanks to Walter Foster, Jet Pens, Peter Pauper Press, Omiyage, Sasquatch and Scout Books for supplying us with all these awesome goodies to share with you!

Handmade Holiday Shop: Sam Osborne

Oh My! Holiday Shop, Sam Osborne
I am a UK based graphic designer, surface pattern designer and illustrator creating bold, colourful, modern, geometric based prints and illustrations. I worked as a commercial graphic designer for nearly 10 years developing my love of colour, texture, shape and typography. Two years ago I started my own business where I now work as a freelance graphic designer, surface pattern designer, illustrator and design consultant.

My Etsy shop features products from my own label that features my colourful prints and patterns on products from homewares and gifts to cards and wall art. I’m always trying new things with my designs but everything starts with a pencil (a mechanical 0.5 HB) and a fresh piece of paper and the resulting drawing gets scanned for colouring and tweaking. Then anything can happen! From digital prints and cards to hand stencilling, original illustrations or working with carefully chosen, trusted, UK based manufacturers to create products like mugs and tea towels.

GOSHOP

Click through any of the photos or links below to shop Sam’s work!

Left to right from topWrapping Paper | Notebooks | 2014 Wall Calendar | Christmas Movies print Rudolph print | 2014 Year to View Calendar | Printable Christmas Tree wall art | Night Before Christmas print | Christmas Card pack

SamOsborneNotebooksBumperPackSamOsborneWrappingSamOsborne2014Calendar
SamOsborneMoviesPrint
SamOsborneRudolphPrint

SamOsborne2014CelebrationCalendar

SamOsborneGeoChristmasPrintable

 

 

 

SamOsborneNightBeforeChristmasPrint
SamOsborneChristmasCardPack

 

Connect with Sam:  WEBSITE ETSY FACEBOOK TWITTER 

This is post #2 in our Holiday Pop Up Shop series, learn more + get involved here!