How to Turn Your Handcrafted Goods Stand Out Exercising Creative Packaging

Creative art and craft designers use some easy and creative methods to make their handcrafted products different from other sellers in the festive or holiday season. This triggers an emotional and special surprise element for their customers, making them order for the items.

This post is all about using creative packaging practices to make your craft stand out from competitors and making a memorable customer experience.

How much time and effort you want to put into your packaging is totally up to you. You can quickly create simple stylish packaging or spend more time creating something customized to your business.

Why Is Creative Packaging Important?

Your competition isn't only with other craft designers but also with big online stores. If you are really good, your handmade products would be more expensive than a factory assembly line, but all for very good reasons. The time invested, efforts applied, and the expertise you bought are what make them worth the high price to your customers. Your packaging needs to reflect this care, effort, and passion.

Customizing your Hang Tags & Display Cards

Instead of basic white price tags or stickers, try making your creative tags or have some printed for you. The same goes for the little hanging cards for earrings.

Ideas for making your tags:

• Print tags out on colored card stock.
• Use big shape punches to create fun shapes for your tags.
• Use colorful ribbon, yarn, or embroidery floss to tie your tags on.
• Add beads or tassels to the tag for added decoration.
• Emboss the tags.
• Add color with markers, colored pencils, or watercolors.

This is a tag I used to use (redesigned them a few months ago). Not only do they have my business name for my customer, but they also have my contact info, background on my creations, and how to care for my polymer clay creations. I think the glass bead on each adds a nice touch.

Business Cards as Hang Tags

Another easy option for hang tags is to take your business cards, punch a hole in it, and add a piece of ribbon or string. You can also poke a couple of small holes and add an adhesive earring card adapter for custom hanging earring cards.

I love Zazzle, and they are my choice for a lot of my printing. They do a great quality job, 2-sided and in full color.

Making a card is very easy, use one of Zazzle's templates or upload your images and then add text.

Custom Gift Bags and Boxes

• Spicing up gift boxes.
• Use custom printed stickers
• Or a custom rubber stamp
• Sign them
• Add ribbon around the edge
• Decoupage vintage clipart onto them
• Add a charm or button on top
• Use ribbon or cord to make a carrying handle
• Draw or paint on them.

Decoupage Embellishing gift bags.

• Add beads to the drawstring
• Print out your logo onto iron-on transfer paper and iron the design onto the bag
• Screenprint your bag.
• Sign the bag using fabric markers
• Use iron-on transfers or applique.
• Add a hang tag to the bag.

Try making your own bags and boxes!

More Packaging Ideas

Custom Bubble Mailers

Bubble mailers are those cute little padded envelopes that are great for sending small items. They also work great as protective packaging for your small items sold at shows and festivals. 27 Things have a great tutorial for making your own cute custom bubble mailers out of colorful art paper.

Alternately you could cover pre-made mailers with wrapping paper, add a custom sticker, or rubber stamp of your logo to one.

Other Easy Ideas

Try incorporating some of these into your packaging.

• Instruction or care sheets. Make these colorful as well as useful.
• Custom rubber stamps.
• Use embossing powder to give your stamps some added impact.
• Custom stickers (you can buy sticker paper for printing them at home).
• Business cards. Include one or two with each purchase.
• For jewelry makers, make custom earrings and pin display cards.
• Ribbons are always an easy touch.

Packaging as Branding

Your packaging can be a great way to help brand your business.

For delivery purposes, I use pallets for a couple of applications. Usually, it shows an industry base that allows the transportation of my items. Primarily, it makes sure that the items safely reach their destination. Goodales pallet delivery option works just fine for me.

What Not to Do

1. Inconsistent. I don't mean everything has to be the same, but the style and theme of your packaging should all have a similar feel.
2. Inappropriate. This should be easy, make the product and packaging match. If it follows retro-style, add the packaging with a retro look. If it's Victorian, don't put it in a tied-dyed box.
3. Unprofessional. If you're here, I'm sure you're not planning to only slap something together quickly. Make sure glued items don't have edges sticking up, corners aren't ripped off tags, all text is correct, and spellchecked.

Updating my Packaging

A few years ago, my packaging looked much different than it does today. You can see some of the differences in the pictures, but they are still outdated as to what I currently use.

Festivals and shows are a great opportunity to put your packaging ideas to the test. Don't hide all your packaging away in a box behind the checkout area. Put out a little display to show your customers exactly what they'll get when they purchase one of your products.