Decorating your Home with Baskets

Baskets are an inexpensive, easy way to decorate your home. Not only do they add a unique decorative touch, they are also useful for storing items. As the video below suggests, one way to decorate with baskets is to find an empty wall and hang the baskets using nails. Make sure to remove the head of the nail so that it won’t damage the weave of the basket. Use baskets of different sizes and shapes to decorate the wall. If you wish, you can even place items in the baskets for display. Another idea is to hang a small basket on a kitchen wall for holding dishwashing towels or one in the bathroom for hand towels. It’s a great way to conveniently organize items in any room.

Larger baskets can be used for holding heavier items like firewood. First, line the basket with newspaper, plastic or burlap to prevent wood chips and other debris from falling onto the floor. It also makes it easier to clean the basket when there is a liner in place. If you choose to line the basket with burlap, you can use thin wire to sew the burlap into place  

Decorating your home with baskets can be a creative, fun process. Since baskets are inexpensive, you can mix and match different types of baskets to achieve the look you desire.

Themes for Gift Baskets

A gift basket is an ideal present for any occasion. From the major holidays to birthdays and baby showers, a gift basket includes a sense of creativity and meaningfulness that is sure to be more appreciated than a store-bought gift. Picking a theme is the first step in making a gift basket. A theme can be the holiday itself or something that is important to the person receiving the gift.  For example, if you know that the birthday boy enjoys football, create a gift basket centered around his favorite football team. This way you know what gift basket supplies to purchase, the colors and patterns to include, as well as the items to place in the basket. Here are some examples of some fun, creative gift baskets:

Baby Shower  – Blue for boys and pink for girls are the traditional color schemes for baby shower gift baskets. However, if you don’t know the gender of the baby, you can use a neutral color like yellow or green.










Football – A fun idea for Father’s Day. Make a general football themed basket or one for his favorite team.







Movie Night – This is perfect for the movie-lover in your life. Include some of their favorite movies, candies, popcorn and drinks.

Valentine’s Day – Pack in all the essential items you need for a romantic evening at home. You can even purchase gift basket supplies, like heart-shaped baskets for this special holiday.

Spa – Give the gift of relaxation with a spa gift basket. You can include items like bath bubbles, massage oils, eye masks, foot scrubs, lotions, and soaps. This is a great gift for Mother’s Day or a bridal shower.

Bubble mailers for Christmas Gifts

During the holiday season, it’s common to see brightly colored bubble mailers for sale. These envelopes are ideal for shipping gifts to friends and families. Christmas bubble mailers come in a variety of sizes, as do regular mailers. However, as opposed to the usual bubble mailers that are yellow, Christmas bubble mailers come in vibrant colors such as ruby red and emerald green. They may also feature a festive design on the outside.

Christmas bubble mailers serve the main function of protecting the contents inside. This is especially important when you are sending a gift to a loved one. These bubble mailers also save the sender the trouble of wrapping the gift, since the outside of the envelope already looks like giftwrap.

Bubble mailers are ideal for shipping gift such as books, CDs, and DVDs. In fact, there are bubble mailers made specifically for shipping CDs and DVDs. These can be very useful during the holidays since many people gift these items for Christmas. Bubble mailers are best for shipping small, lightweight objects. For larger, heavier items, consider using corrugated boxes.

Although shipping a Christmas gift in a bubble mailer is fairly easy, here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Don’t pack too much stuff in the mailer. This may cause the envelope to pop open and spill the contents.
2. Make sure the recipient and sender’s addresses are written clearly.
3. Don’t include items with sharp edges inside the mailer.
4. Place a piece of packing tape across the flap to ensure that the mailer doesn’t open during the transit.

Bubble Wrap or Peanuts?

When you’re shipping a package or moving, you might be face with the question: what’s a better cushioning material, peanuts or bubble wrap? First, let’s take some time to describe the two materials. Packing peanuts are loose fill material made from Styrofoam. Bubble wrap is a clear, pliable material with air pockets and come in both sheets and rolls.  While both peanuts and bubble wrap provide cushioning and protection, there are instances where one is as a better option than the other.

Packing peanuts are best for cushioning large objects in boxes. The loose peanuts fill the empty spaces within the box and still give the object a small amount of room to move around. This is a great option for packing and shipping items that are large and not fragile. The main problem with peanuts is that they are a mess to clean up. When you take the item out of the box, loose peanuts may fall on the floor and this can be a hassle to clean up.

Bubble wrap is best used for cushioning fragile items. Wrapping sheets of bubble wrap around the item will help keep it from getting damaged. Sometimes the item may need to be wrapped in multiple sheets for additional protection.

In certain instances, it may be best to use both bubble wrap and peanuts. First wrap the item with bubble wrap and place it in the box. Then use loose peanuts to fill in any empty spaces within the box. Together, bubble wrap and peanuts provide the best cushioning and protection for any item.

Plastic Shopping Bags - Taxes & Bans

Recently, several cities have implemented a bag tax on single-use plastic shopping bags. In an effort to save the environment, this tax is imposed to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bag.  Washington D.C., for example, has a 5 cents tax on plastic shopping bags. Other cities have forgone the tax and banned plastic shopping bags all together. Most notably, San Francisco and Los Angeles, have taken measures to ban the use of plastic bags at grocery stores and other retail shops. It seems that this is becoming the trend for many cities.

So the big question is, does taxing the use of plastic shopping bags or banning it all together an effective solution for saving the environment? Washington DC’s 5 cent tax has proven to be extremely effective. The number of plastic bags handed out at supermarkets dropped from an average 22.5 million a month to 3 million. In addition, the revenue generated by the tax was used to clean up the Anacostia River.

As for the San Francisco and Los Angeles, the cities have been challenged by shopping bag manufacturers for the implementation of a ban on plastic shopping bags.  However, judges have upheld the cities’ policy in the matter. In fact, San Francisco recently approved a measure to expand the ban into additional stores.  The city is also charging a 10 cents tax on paper bags. There is no doubt that taxes on disposable bags is going to be challenged in the courts for years to come, but so far, it seems that environmentalist have an upper hand in the matter.

Types of custom shopping bags

Whether you own a small business or are a major retailer, custom shopping bags serve as a walking billboard for your company. Depending on your business, you may choose between several types of custom printed bags. Three of the most popular include twisted handle bags, euro totes, and non-woven fabric bags.

Twisted Handle bags

Convenient for all types of businesses, twisted handle bags are one of the most versatile and affordable options for custom shopping bags. Twisted handle bags are available in a variety of colors, styles, and sizes. 

Euro Totes

More elegant than a twisted handle bags, these stylish bags are perfect for high-end shopping stores. Euro totes may have a matte or gloss laminated. Mimicking the style of a gift bag, these bags may be more expensive than twisted handle bags; yet their quality and attractiveness, makes up for the additional costs.

Non-woven fabric bags

If your business thrives on being eco friendly, these reusable non-woven fabric bags are the perfect choice. Many grocery stores now carry reusable bags with their logos printed. These fabric bags are sturdier than paper bags, allowing customers to carry heavy loads without the fear of the bag breaking.

Coffee Bag Types and their Uses

Coffee bags, while generally used for coffee beans or grinds often have other uses as well. For example cloth sacks that are used by coffee farmers have many utilitarian uses. These tough, durable bags can be used to store just about anything. On the other hand, smaller retail-based coffee bags (sometimes known as tin-tie bags) can also be used for other treats like candy or cookies.

Tulle – A Popular Wedding Veil and Gown Option

Tulle is a popular option for wedding dresses. The netting is the perfect fabric for wedding veils. However, some brides prefer their actual dress be made from tulle.



Random Fact: Tulle is also the name of the French commune in Corrèze, France. It has a rich history dating back to the time of the Gauls.

Repurposing bubble wrap

Bubble wrap is extremely useful as a method for safely shipping fragile items. However, it can also be repurposed in several ways. For example, they can be used for insulation, or condensation control. It can also be used for grocery items which tend to be abused (tomatoes for example).
How can bubble wrap be used as insulation? By providing a pocket of air that prevents and old and heat from passing through. In this capacity, bubble wrap also acts as an excellent energy saver, making it a great option for greener living.

Making your own Bubble Mailers

Bubble mailers are a very useful for mailing items. So how would you go about making your own if you tried? Someone on Crasftser has an excellent tutorial on just that using decorate paper, bubble wrap, glue and a few other household items.

Choosing Wedding Favors

Weddings are a time of celebration, and included In the tradition are wedding favors. But choosing the right wedding favors can be a daunting task for the uninitiated. However, popular wedding favors include:
· Wine glasses
· Shot glasses
· Honey jars
· Photo frames
· Soaps
· Candy
· Lip Balm
· Ribbons
· Coasters
· Bottle openers
And don’t forget to use wedding favor boxes and the more personalized the better!

Take out Boxes at restaurants

Take-out boxes are a must at American restaurants, where the sizes of servings often border on a practical joke. The good news is that take out boxes allow you to take leftovers home and extend these portions out over 2 or more meals. Chinese take out boxes are among the more well-known of these.

Custom Shopping Bags: A Win-Win-Win

Custom shopping bags are a bit of a win-win for the retail industry.  Retailers get the option to customize shopping bags to suit their own brand.  So when customers subsequently use these bags, that retailer benefits from the free branding/advertising.  On the other hand, this is not a one-way deal.  Customers get to choose what customized shopping bag they are going to use.  What this means that customers get to customer their own shopping experience.  Add to this, custom shopping bags are likely to be re-used, which cuts down on the number of paper or plastics bags, helping the environment and making this more of a win-win-win situation.

Bubble Mailers and Bubble Wrap for Cardboard Boxes

Bubble mailers (often referred to as bubble wrap) make for a great investment choice.  By protecting the contents of items being shipped, bubble mailers help ensure safe delivery of the most fragile of items.  This is especially useful given the fact that  cardboard boxes provide very little protection from the shock associated with standard shipping methods.

Aside from its well-known use in the shipping and packaging industries, bubble wrap is sometimes used for other things.  Some of these varied uses include insulation for dog houses, protection for plants against freezing weather, and some even claim therapeutic success.  Environmentalists will be happy to know that bubble wrap is recyclable.

Back to School: Making Magnetic Bookmarks with Ribbon

Summer is almost over and you know what that means…it’s time to go back to school! You may be thinking of ways to create cute back to school crafts for your kids. From decorating notebooks with patterned cardstock to creating a personalized fabric pencil pouch, the possibilities are endless. One neat little project I stumbled upon is making magnetic ribbon bookmarks. These make great gifts for any book-lover and are perfect for your kids to have throughout the year.

Materials:
7/8” Grosgrain ribbon – your choice of pattern and/or color. If you have leftover grosgrain ribbon from other crafts projects, this is a great time to use them!

Scissors
Sticky back magnetic strip

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of grosgrain ribbon that is 12 “ long.
2. Cut 2 magnetic strips that are each 4” long.
3. Take the sticky back off one of the magnetic strips and paste it onto one end of the ribbon.
4. Take the other magnetic strip and paste it on to the opposite end of the ribbon.
5. Fold the ribbon in half so that the two magnets touch and stick to each other.

Types of Hot Glue Guns

One tool that is commonly used in crafts is a hot glue gun, which is extremely easy to use and is relatively inexpensive. In order to use a glue gun, you will also need glue sticks which come in a variety of sizes. Make sure to purchase the correct sized glue sticks for your glue gun.

There are two main types of glue guns: high temperature glue guns and low temperature glue guns. High temperature glue guns are used for bonding material such as wood, plastic or metals while low temperature glue guns are ideal for lightweight materials such as lace, ribbon, or fabrics. Due to the nature of craft materials, many craft glue guns use a low temperature since it is less likely to cause burns and can handle delicate craft materials better. Dual temperature glue guns, that feature both low and high temperature options, offer the convenience of switching between temperatures for different projects.

As an adhesive applicator, glue guns are a great investment since they are cheap, easy to store, and last a long time. Glue sticks typically have a long shelf life compared to other forms of adhesive which may lose their effectiveness over time. Overall, whether you are a craft junkie or an occasional crafter, a glue gun is a great tool to have around the house.

How to tie a chair sash

A simple way to add elegance to your wedding décor is to tie chair sashes onto the guest chairs for the ceremony or reception. This will add color and texture to your dull chairs, without breaking your wallet. Organza chair sashes, as well as burlap and satin chair sashes are very popular these days. To make your wedding chair sash, start off by cutting your choice of fabric to an appropriate length. Most chair sashes are about 6 to 8” in width and 7 feet long. Once you have the piece of fabric cut, locate the middle point of the sash. Wrap the chair with the fabric and make sure the middle point is pressing against the inside of the chair. Bring the tails of the sash around to the back side and tie a simple knot. Now it’s time to choose a style; there are three basic ways to tie your chair sash: basic bow, square knot or a flip knot.

Basic Bow
Once you have the simple knot tied, make two loops and tie them together. You can adjust the loops to desired length.

Square knot
Following the simple knot, tie another knot but flatten the top part of the knot before you tighten.

Flip Knot
After you have tied the simple knot, take the tails of the sash and loop them around the back so that they drape over your simple knot.

How to gift a wine bottle

A bottle of wine makes an elegant gift for a dinner party or as a housewarming gift. You can give the wine bottle alone or include it in a gift basket. Below are several ways you can gift a wine bottle to make it look fancy and elegant so that both its looks and taste are appreciated equally.

1. Tie a bow around the bottle of wine – Using satin or organza ribbon, tie a bow around the neck of the wine bottle. An elegant red bow can make a huge difference in the presentation of a simple wine bottle.

2. Use a wine bag – Place the wine bottle in a wine gift bag. There are numerous types of wine bags available in different fabrics including organza, velvet, satin and jute. Most of these bags come with draw strings that you pull tightly to secure the bottle in place. Organza wine bags have the advantage of allowing the person to see the wine bottle without taking it out of the bag.

3. Include it in a gift basket – Use a fabric covered basket and place the wine bottle in the middle. Include other goodies like cheese, crackers, and chocolate in the basket. Wrap it up with polypropylene sheet and use fabric ribbon to tie a beautiful bow.

How to Make a 4th of July Ribbon Wand

Summer is nearly here and that means your kids will have plenty of free time to play outside, read books, and of course partake in crafts projects. The following is an activity easy enough for toddlers and elementary school aged children to do. Ribbon streamers are great for any festive event and will be especially useful at 4th of July parades and events.

For this project you will need the following materials:

• Paper towel roll tube
• Glue
• Scissors
• Hole puncher
• Ruler
• Roll of red and white candy striped ribbon
• Roll of red, white, and blue ribbon

Instructions

1. Start off by wrapping the striped ribbon around the paper towel tube. Use the glue to adhere the ribbon onto the roll.
2. Once the glue has dried completely, punch out 9 holes on the bottom of the paper towel tube using the hole puncher.
3. Cut three strips of red ribbon, blue ribbon and white ribbon that are each 45 inches long. You should have 9 ribbon pieces in total.
4. Tie a knot at the top of each of the ribbon pieces and pull each ribbon through the holes so that the knot is inside of the tube.

Different types of take out boxes

When you think of take out boxes, an image of a plain white Chinese takeout box or foam clamshell box might come to mind. While a majority of restaurants do carry these types of take out boxes, that’s not to say those are the only types available. In fact, take out boxes come in numerous styles, patterns, and colors. Take for example, the polka dot printed boxes that are perfect not only for carrying food but for presenting favors as well. A friend of mine actually used these at her dinner party. She gave away desserts including brownies, cookies, and other treats packaged in a decorative take out box. Not only did this make it easier for guests to carry the treats home, they also appreciated the presentation and beauty of the polka dot take out box.

If patterned take out boxes don’t suit your style, you can always go with the traditional white or mono-colored boxes. Foam clamshell boxes often feature compartmentalized sections to separate different types of foods. One section can be used for the main entrée, the other for the side dish, and the third for an appetizer or dessert. Best of all, take out boxes come in many sizes to accommodate various types of foods.

Baskets for Organizing

Not only are baskets great for gift giving, they are also useful for organizing items around you house. Any room in your home can benefit from some great looking baskets. Recently, it has become a trend to decorate your house using these nifty organizers. If you have a furniture piece with cubicles, you can insert square baskets into the slots to organize household items.

Baskets are also great for organizing items in your children's rooms. Toys, books, art supplies, and other small items can be neatly tucked away in baskets for safe storing. They can be arranged in the room so that your child can easily reach for the items he or she wants, and then put them away later.

In addition to children's rooms, many people use baskets in their bathrooms to organize toiletries. They are fantastic for keeping your hairbrush, curling iron, straightner, and hair products organized in one place. Choose from oval, square, or rectangular baskets for decorating your home. Although traditional baskets are brown or beige, they can also be found in vibrant colors. For a child’s room, for example, you may want to accessorize with brightly colored baskets. Another option is to layer the inside of the basket with a patterned fabric to add a bit of flair and style to the traditional brown basket.

Paper Mart carries a great selection of woven baskets at wholesale prices that are sure to complement any room in your house.

Wedding Supplies

One of the most important days in a person’s life is their wedding day. A lot of time and money is spent to plan this festive event. Wedding supplies can range from being extravagant, costing thousands of dollars, to extremely simple and unique.

Some wedding supplies that are essential for this memorable day include guest books, ring pillows, flower baskets, and wedding favor boxes. To truly make your wedding unique, you should concentrate on the little details. For example, you can embellish the wedding favor boxes by tying a sheer or satin ribbon around them. If favor boxes are not your style, you can purchase organza, silk, or lace favor bags instead. Another idea is to decorate the flower basket yourself. You can use ribbons, artificial butterflies, tulle, and other crafts material to create a one-of-a-kind flower girl basket.

It is truly possible to find beautiful wedding supplies on a tight budget. Being creative is the key in these situations. By purchasing wedding supplies at wholesale prices and then embellishing them yourself, you can save a lot of money.

Making a bunny with plastic shopping bags

While plastic shopping bags may not seem like the best material for an arts and crafts project, they have several advantages that makes them so. First, plastic bags can be found easily; in fact, they are almost impossible to avoid. Second, they usually cost little or no money at all. Lastly, by using plastic bags for crafts project, you are essentially recycling them which is helpful for the environment.

The following is a tutorial on creating a bunny using a plastic grocery bag. This is a great activity do with your kids during Easter. Since it is fairly easy to do and only takes few minutes, you can get young kids (toddler age) to do them as well. The final product looks very cute and you can put these bunnies around the house as decoration.

Materials:

A plastic bag with handles (preferably a t shirt bag)
Filler – you can use shredded paper or cotton
2 rubber bands
Sharpie marker

Instructions:

1. Stuff the plastic bag with the filler
2. Tie a knot at the top of the bag with the handles. These should make your bunny ears.
3. Tie a rubber band around the bottom of the plastic bag to make the tail.
4. Using the sharpie marker, draw facial features like the bunny’s eyes, nose and mouth.
5. You should now have your bunny!

Presenting home baked goods in coffee bags

With money being tight for most people these days, you want to try to save in as many areas as you can. The holidays are a time when you can use your baking talents to show your appreciation to your loved ones. Everyone loves home baked goods. Giving packages of cookies, brownies, rice-krispie treats, and other baked goods are very popular during this time. When you gift these goodies through, it’s important to present them in a creative and special way. One way to do that is by using empty coffee bags. Coffee bags will keep your baked goods fresh and will also give you the opportunity to decorate the gift packaging.

Once you have your freshly baked goods in the bag, you can seal it up with the tin ties. Use a bow of your choice to decorate the bag. You can go with curly bows, fabric bows, or even flair it up with some fancy bows. My personal favorite is the metallic bow-tie bow. It’s a small pull bow made from mirrorized poly. They come in Christmas colors – red and emerald green – so you can use it for the holiday season. A combination of using an empty coffee bag with a beautiful bow is the best choice for presenting your baked goods to friends and family.

Bubble mailers for an Online Business

When you own a business that ships products out to customers, shipping costs can become pretty expensive. One way to reduce costs is by using light-weight shipping envelopes such as the popular bubble mailers. These nifty little mailers come in all different sizes to accommodate various products.

My friend who sells jewelry through eBay uses these padded bubble mailers all the time. They protect the jewelry from damage and also help to keep the shipping costs low. This is a win-win situation for both him, as a business owner, and the customer.

I personally use bubble mailers to ship out used books that I sell on Amazon. Of course I can send it in a box or a large envelope but I know this will not keep the books safe during shipping. Packages are often thrown about carelessly and as a good seller, you need to take precaution when you ship products to your customer. A damaged item could result in negative reviews in you seller’s account or the customer may ask that you replace the item. So save yourself the headache of dealing with return transactions or bad reviews, and go with bubble mailers for all your secure shipping needs.

Bubble Wrap Indian Corn

As a child, many of us found bubble wrap to provide mindless entertainment. Popping bubble wrap was a fun activity that could be enjoyed while watching a movie or laying out in the sun. Little did we know that bubble wrap could be used for a variety of other activities including arts and crafts projects.

One creative way to use bubble wrap is for making Indian corn. This is a great activity do with your child for Thanksgiving and only requires some simple supplies.

Materials:

Bubble wrap
Scissors
Raffia
Hole puncher
Small paint brush
Yellow, tan, rust, black and red paint

Instructions:

1. Print out a corn pattern online. Just do a simple Google search and you’ll be able to find one easily.

2. Cut the bubble wrap into the shape of corn using the printed pattern. Cut out 3 corn shapes.

3. Paint the 3 corn shapes three different colors: yellow, tan, and rust.

4. Once the paint has dried, use the paintbrush to paint some of the kernels red and black. This will make it look like Indian corn.

4. Glue the painted corn onto card-stock backings. Punch a hole on the top of each of the corn and tie all three together with raffia.

5. Hang the corn on a door knob or use it to decorate the table for a Thanksgiving meal.

Frankenstein Take Out Box

While take out boxes are used primarily for carrying restaurant food home, they are also perfect for crafts projects and as favor boxes for any party. Think of one of the most celebrated holidays in the U.S. – Halloween. There’s a simple and creative arts and crafts project that can be done with Chinese take out boxes. First you will need a green colored Chinese take out box or if you have a white one, just paint it pale green. Go into any crafts store and purchase the following supplies: black and white felt, black permanent marker, wiggly eyes, brads, glue, and scissors. Once you have all the materials, begin by cutting out the black felt in a zig zag shape and glue the felt on to the top portion of the box, making it look like Frankenstein’s hair. Then glue on the two wiggly eyes. Use the brad as Frankenstein’s nose and draw his features (mouth, scar, ears) using the permanent marker. You can also cut out little teeth with the white felt and glue it on to the drawn mouth. Fill the take out box with candy and other Halloween treats. Then hand them out to anyone special in your life or as a Halloween party favor.

Cardboard Box Shape Sorter

Imagine this – you just moved into a new place and unpacked all your stuff but you’re left with a massive amount of empty cardboard boxes. What can you do with them? Well for one thing, you can give them away to someone else that needs them or let your cat enjoy a game of hide-and-seek. If you have a toddler though, one neat project is to turn a large cardboard box into a shape sorter using materials that are easily available at home.

First you will need a large box, approximately 18x18x18 inches. Draw different shapes on all six sides of the box using a compass, ruler, and pencil. Rectangles, diamonds, circles, and hexagons are just some ideas. Cut out the shapes using an X-Acto knife. Trace each of the cutout circles with contact paper and then use a compass to draw a circle around it that is an inch bigger in diameter. Cut out the ring and paste it onto the corresponding circle on the box. Repeat the process for all shapes. It might be easier to use strips of colored masking tape for rectangles and squares. The final step is to use a hot-glue gun to seal the cardboard box firmly on both ends. Hand your toddler some play balls and toys to put through the holes for hours of fun.

How to make a tutu using tulle

Making a tutu using tulle fabric is pretty simple. First task is to measure the waist of your model with elastic. The width of your elastic can range from ¾ inch to 1 inch, depending on who you are making the tutu for. Use 1 inch elastic for older girls and ¾ inch elastic for babies. Once the model has been measured, sew the elastic 2 to 3 inches smaller than what was measured. The next step is to find tulle fabric. Let your model choose the color of the tulle they want for their tutu. In general, 6 inch tulle tends to work the best. If you buy tulle in bolts, you will have to measure and cut the appropriate size for the tutu. Measure the tulle 24 inches in length and cut. Gather the tulle in the middle, wrap it around the elastic and slip a knot. Repeat the process until the elastic is completely covered with tulle and you have a full skirt. If you want to make the tutu fancier, add embellishments like bows, satin, or ribbons to decorate the skirt. This simple tutu can be created for any occasion – birthday parties, Halloween costumes, and Easter egg hunts.

Plastic shopping bags

Almost any store you go to will have plastic shopping bags to take merchandise home. Although plastic shopping bags are not eco-friendly, there is no sign that these packaging supplies will disappear anytime soon. Plastic shopping bags come in a variety of styles, colors, and sizes. Small clothing stores usually have generic t-shirts bags available while stores that carry heavier items like bookstores, use high or low density merchandise bags. Most plastic shopping bags feature a handle that can vary in shape. Die-cut, loop, or patch handle bags are just some examples of the different types.

If you own a retail store, plastic shopping bags are a necessity. When choosing a plastic shopping bag, it’s important to pick one that will not tear easily. The last thing a customer wants is their newly bought merchandise dropped on the ground. The quality of a bag depends on its thickness and whether it is securely sealed. Inspect and learn about the material that is used to make your plastic bag and its thickness before purchasing large quantities. The best thing about plastic shopping bags is that they are relatively cheap and can be reused for other purposes once the customer gets home. It’s a win-win for both the customer and the store owner.

Baskets

Basket weaving is perhaps one of the oldest crafts in human civilization. Baskets can be utilized for a variety of projects including house décor, carrying items, gift giving, and much more. They are composed from all types of material including bamboo, raffia, sea grass, straw, tree bark, and wire. Sales for baskets increase during certain holidays such as Christmas or Easter. This is because baskets are essential for making gift baskets. No matter what the occasion, a thoughtful gift basket is always appreciated.


Pastel colored baskets are popular in spring for decoration and Easter egg hunts. A neat little arts and crafts project is to have your kids decorate their own Easter egg basket. Use paint, foam letters, fabric and other craft materials to make it a one-of-a-kind basket. Another occasion where baskets are immensely popular is a wedding. Every flower girl needs a beautiful basket to carry rose petals in. Nowadays people use baskets for house décor since they provide the luxury of organization and aesthetics all-in-one. Keep all your remote controls in one basket to avoid misplacing them or use baskets to organize your children’s toys. There are numerous possibilities when it comes to house decorating with baskets.

Bubble Mailers - Secure Delivery

Bubble mailers are designed to provide secure delivery of valuable fragile items at low costs. These are commonly seen in businesses settings to ensure safe delivery of important items. Even in cases where it’s not a fragile item, bubble mailers prove to be useful. An online bookstore retailer, for example, may want use padded mailer envelopes to ship books to customers. That added protection can become crucial during the shipping process. Because they are composed from lightweight material, bubble mailers can reduce postage costs significantly.

Traditional bubble mailers are made from goldenrod Kraft paper and have a durable, protective bubble lining on the inside. Most are equipped with a self-sealing adhesive strip that allows the envelope to be closed quickly and neatly without the fuss of tape or glue. The secure adhesive strip also lets the recipient know if the packaged has been tampered with. In addition to the traditional golden bubble mailers, many companies also offer metallic bubble mailers. These flashy mirrorized envelopes come in different colors and are perfect for shipping DVDs, CD, or gift giving. Bubble mailers are available in variety of sizes to accommodate both small and large items. Their simple design makes them easy and efficient to work with on a daily basis.