Creative Jewelry Packaging Series - Hand Made Felt Pouches

Felt is a wonderful thing!

It is so soft, comes in a ton of colors…and the best part is it doesn’t have to be hemmed.

When I made some special silver necklace charms I knew I wanted some kind of pouch to package them in. I decided to create one myself that would fit my needs in a more custom way.

I knew it needed to be something that would be very easy to create and something I could make over and over.

First I made a pattern out of paper to find the right size. I ended up with a long rectangle.Then all I needed to do was fold up the bottom and sew along three sides…just a quick straight line.

The excess on top folded over and was secured with a small piece of organza ribbon. They were so simple to make I ended up with a whole bucket full in one sitting.

I preferred to do more of an assembly line…cut all felt, sew all pieces, cut all ribbon, etc.

The color or pattern can be chosen to complement your pieces…for a more natural, earthy look…tie with raffia, for a more modern, contemporary look tie with metallic thread…or for a more romantic look tie with a thin strip of lace…

Presto! A small pouch …inexpensive, custom…perfect.

Creative Jewelry Packaging Series - Small Wood Boxes

When you take a lot of time and care to create a very special, hand crafted piece of jewelry it is important to think about how that little creation will be packaged for the recipient.

At most national art and craft stores, in their unfinished wood sections, you can find small, unfinished wood boxes in a wide assortment of shapes and sizes…most prices around $1 or less.

There are so many things that can be done to incorporate these inexpensive boxes into your presentation...

• hand paint them in a color or theme to coordinate with your piece of jewelry

• decoupage them with decorative papers or tissue

• stain them with a wood stain or simply clear varnish

• spray paint them and add your signature or write a personal note or poem

• glue fabric or trims on them

The list goes on and on…

Just think what a special experience the recipient would have receiving one of your creations, wrapped in colorful tissue paper, carefully tucked inside a beautifully decorated box .

It is a complete presentation!

Creative Jewelry Packaging Series - Clear Top Boxes - Part Two

Ok, so you have the right boxes…now what do you do with them?

As I said in Part One of this series…I didn’t care for the cotton usually supplied with jewelry boxes. It would get caught on my jewelry and the little hairs would look messy.

I chose to buy a large piece of felt from a craft store and cut small rectangles to fit my boxes. This was very affordable and I could customize my colors to match the pieces of jewelry or my display.

A tip…to save your sanity when cutting felt, make sure you use sharp, fabric scissors…even if that means you need to pick up a new pair along with your fabric purchase! There is nothing worse than trying to cut felt with dull scissors or scissors that are regularly used for cutting paper.

The other great thing about clear top boxes is that you can see what you have.This is handy for display and for storage. It saves time when you are hunting for something not to have to remove all of the lids to find the item. It also saves time when setting up to do a home show or fair.

While it’s usually best for customers to not have a barrier between them and your jewelry, in a time crunch the tops can be left on and they can still see what you have.

The tops can help with moisture and dust too…for some added protection.

Studio Help - Cut Ribbon Storage

I LOVE Ribbon!

Almost as much as I love fabric...but cut ribbon pieces can be a nightmare to store and manage!

I use the cut ribbon pieces for so many things...packaging an order, grouping supplies, labeling items, protecting items in transport, pulling my hair back in my office when I don't have anything else around! It is a smart way to utilize surplus ribbon...too pretty to discard and sometimes at the art store they will even sell a full bag of assorted cut ribbon lengths for $1 to get rid of extra inventory.

A few years ago while surfing online for clever ideas on how to store ribbon...I stumbled on a really useful idea. I don't remember where I found it - so I apologise in advance for that!

Just know it wasn't my idea to begin with...but I did tweak it a bit!

What they did was use a wire hanger (like you get from the dry cleaners) and loop the the lengths of ribbon through the wire like the picture above. The strands of ribbon slide together and hang so that you can always see what you have available!

I think the best part is that you can easily remove or add new lengths one at a time without disturbing the others! No more tangles, creased ribbon...or forgetting what you have.

I hung the hangers on a hook on the back of my door.

Now my newest twist was to buy a multi level hanger...typically used for several pair of pants. This way I was able to have five rungs to hang from in a smaller amount of space! The hanger is coated so it protects more delicate ribbons. I recommend that if you have ribbon that creases easily...loop it very loosely and don't pull it taught.

It is pretty and functional...I actually moved it from behind the door to a wall hook near my desk because I love seeing my colorful ribbons!