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Monday, November 3, 2008

making mail fun!

Thanks so much for making my jump into the "selling" world so much fun. Your warm wishes on Friday made me happy all weekend long. I'm also feeling excited that I had my first couple of sales and even ran out of little toadstool pincushions. I only had made three, but "selling out" sounds so cool, doesn't it!? I just made two more and they'll be available tomorrow with a couple more items...
Sending off my little packages is totally exciting... I feel like an elf in my shop these days, and want to make everything, including my envelopes. I guess that's not really anything new for me. I thought I'd share this idea with you because the upcoming holidays means that just about everyone will be making more trips to the post office. I made my own sturdy over-sized envelopes out of paper bags.
First, I used a manila envelope as my template.


Second, I zigzaged around three sides with my sewing machine.
Third, I folded over top and tape with clear packaging tape. Ready for addressing. Easy!


These are perfect for a little soft item... like a pin cushion! Is this a time efficient way to package large orders? Nope! Right now, it's a wonderful way for me to personalize each shipment, and you might like to do this for a friend or family member's upcoming gift.

Before I forget, I love shipping internationally and now have officially (on my Etsy page) invited overseas buyers to convo me for shipping rates. See you tomorrow!

18 comments:

  1. your packages put mine to shame...so pretty my dear...xxoo

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  2. oh, a great big congratulations to you on the opening of your shop, and selling out of something! :) i love the sewn mailers...very special! sometimes efficiency is highly over-rated. xo

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  3. i can't wait to sew my own envelopes now! thank you for the idea (now i wouldn't have thought of that one). i'm already envisioning sewing in bubble wrap to protect the little acorns i've been sending out across the us. and i definitely need a stamp.

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  4. congrats on your store opening and first sales!!!
    Way to go!
    Nicely sewn bag!

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  5. Congratulations to you for doing so well already!

    Personalised envelopes is a lovely idea! Did you make the stamp too or did you have it made? Lovely x

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  6. Lovely lovely final touch to a purchase from your shop.. and very clever!

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  7. Congratulations on the opening of your Etsy store!! You're an inspiration and I hope to open one too someday! Cute envelope idea, never would've thought to sew them. All the best!

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  8. As always in this blog; so inspiring and fun!
    Lovely idea for the envelopes!

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  9. i love cathy's comment. I love your envelopes and hope that the recipients will as well and that they will reuse them for gift giving. It is details like this that make etsy and the handmade movement so special. I find there is a shortage of good paper bags with the bring your own shopping bag trend.

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  10. I'm sooo happy you like them, too!
    farawayme- I had the stamp made up at Staples for around $10.
    Margie- I've had to resort to asking friends for paper grocery bags. I agree... they're harder to come by and that's a good thing:)I just tried the same technique with brown postal/craft paper... works GREAT!!!

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  11. The mailers are great. I'm going to have to start making my own!!

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  12. What a great idea and a beautiful way to recycle! Thank you for sharing Maya!

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  13. We were just lamenting the cost of padded envelopes for mailing when we saw this post! We are going to try making our own envelopes as well out of rosin paper and foam padding we already own! What a great way to recycle.

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  14. Adding my congratulations to you on your shop. And thank you for this wonderful idea for envelopes, which will be so useful for the upcoming holidays. (And for those of us using swaptree, too.)

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  15. Wauw, congratulations on your shop opening and your first sales!! you do great!

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  16. I stumbled onto your blog and found this great tutorial! Wow, fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing!!

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  17. What a great way to recycle and give a personal touch to your shop's packaging!

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  18. I love new way of making shipping packages am going to make some of these! Thank you so much!

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