Setting up your craft business is exciting yet challenging. Even if your product design is flawless and presentation is top notch, your materials are natural, sustainable, fair trade or came from local family farms, there are couple areas to work on: wrapping, packing and postage are usually pushed to the side, but it's a great opportunity to send your customer a message about sustainable living, remind of vast Earth pollution or introduce them to reducing, reusing and recycling.

And there is that warm and uplifting feeling, that the package from your handcrafted item won't live for your great grandchildren to dig up in the yard or end up as a whale's death cause.

Today we have a few ideas on materials, wrappings and different ways to pack those precious handmade items.

Linen Favor Bags

Handmade Natural Paper Bag

Jute Twine

So, what can we choose to wrap the items for shipping?

• Tissue Paper - made from 100% recycled paper.
• Natural Craft Paper is a mono-material that is easily and frequently recycled.
• Castoff Kerchief - a light fabric neck scarf you haven't worn for ages.
• Fabric scraps - a great way to use leftovers from sewing projects.
• Natural ropes and twines - there are cotton, linen, jute, raw wool, nettle, hemp, paper or even sewing scrap ropes to tie the packed goods.
• Handmade canvas string bags - natural or upcycled fabric bags.
• Handmade paper or handmade paper bags.
• Individual canvas tote bags.

Another very important step is packing. Parcel has to be protected from physical damage, moist, dust, has to look good and fit the postal requirements.
The most popular are cardboard boxes, look for recycled cardboard, skip the ones with plastic coating.

Second in line are mailers or mailing bags. These can be 80% or 100% recycled and can be recycled again. And there are paper ones with bio plastic padding or eco bubble wrap.  

Another essential is packing tape, made of recycled paper and natural rubber.

There are eco friendly and biodegradable options available for all these supplies.

Cardboard box, tissue paper and canvas tote combo from DingoM

There are a lot of options for void filling, go for a natural, sustainable, recycled materials. Have a look around, you might have suitable stuff just laying around.

Shredded Paper

Wood Wool

• Packing peanuts - starch based peanuts are soluble in water and can be disposed down the sink.
• Old newspapers - an old faithful way to fill space in box, not too fancy though.
• Shredded paper - usually made from recycled paper.
• Wood shavings - not as common, but nice way to use bits and pieces from wood working station.
• Wood wool.
• Biodegradable bubble wrap.
• All kinds of corrugated cardboard sliced into pattern to replace bubble wrap.

An example of eco - friendly wrapping and packing from WoolenClogs

Remind your lovely customers to take care of wrapping and packaging, to re-use it or recycle.

Any other eco friendly options we missed? Drop a comment below!

Autumn, apple time, apple pie, apple decorations, apple in the garden, apple in the market.. it's a wonderful time, when you feel and smell apples everywhere.. 😊
And sitting in the office I felt an absolutely powerful yearning to find something on the internet to help that autumn feeling along 😊
Every day it gets colder, we spend more and more time at home, so we really need a cozy atmosphere.
CozyHomeIdeas have these wonderful apples in their shop.
This ceramic apple is a wonderful gift and interior detail, I imagine how pleasant it is when somebody opens it and finds something delicious inside.
Or this apple, it smells of late autumn or Christmas...

Felt making is considered to be one of the oldest textile techniques. Here is used wet felting which involves only warm water, natural soap and a few simple wooden and ceramic tools. It takes time to felt a pair of slippers, and it is a rather complicated process. To get a nice shape, it is necessary to possess shoe lasts and also sharp eyes. In the beginning, wool is precisely weighed in accordance with a special table of weight, as different sizes require different amount of wool. Jurga usually uses undyed natural wool, but she likes some decorative elements of dyed wool too. She is using different moulds for different sizes. First of all, she line dry wool and apply water to the fabric. A pair of slippers is lined together. When the wool is lined and wet, it is time to start felting. Slippers are twisted into a towel and then rolling many times. Afterwards, Jurga's husband takes the slippers into his hands to give them a nice shape, to rinse in clean water and dry them next to the fireplace. Felting is a long process which takes time and requires physical strength of a felter. In the different point of view, it is such a pleasure to work with natural fibres, natural wool which comes from animal-friendly farms. Jurga usually use European wool, and are very concerned about the issue of ecology.

We introducing ShimaFiberArt story and SHOP.

Welcome to my little world of colours, art and beauty.

I'm artist and felt maker specializing in lifelike, detailed pet portraits of wool.
I have provided custom paintings of beloved pets for clients around the world. Bringing animals to life out of wool is my calling and passion. 

I fall in love with felting in 2011 and each time I'm finding something new.
Organic wool is a unique material with rich colors, heat as the mother's hands and endless possibilities, that is why felting really touched my heart and became important part of my life.
I believe – Quality & value is more important so always use only premium quality organic wool in my items and make things that look great and are functional. 

Mostly I creating

Custom Pet paintings - I spend many hours to capture on the face special look that only your Pet has. My artworks are a play of color and texture. You can send me your own pet photo, and I can paint they portrait using wool painting technology.
Needle felted animals - Great gift idea for birthday, anniversary, wedding gifts or for any unique occasion. From your photos I will create your pet out of wool which I sculpt with a special barbed felting needle. All of them are made with love , passions , care and many hours .Each sculpture is one of a kind and makes a unique gift for someone special! 

I also have done sculptures "IN MEMORY OF" for the precious pets of our past.
Felted slippers - Every pair is made on order to your exact requirements – especially for You. All items are carefully made by creative hands, using just natural soap and warm water. All of them have a warm of my hand, all of them is cozy and comfort products for people.
I love custom order and I hope you will enjoy my creations as much as I enjoyed making them.
Commission your own painting today and watch as I bring your loved one to life on canvas!
For further information, please contact me via Etsy, or email shimafiberart [!at] gmail.com

Wear a smile with ShimaFiber Art !

Here is MadeByUgne story and her SHOP.

My first creation was a linen teddy bear after welcoming my daughter. Teddy after teddy it slowly developed to a small business of mine.

Now I have a son as well and more products that I make. I can offer warm and cosy knitted extra fine merino wool baby blankets and matching knitted woolen socks. Also I make not only soft Teddy bears, but rag dolls and bunnies as well. 

Everything I make is first and foremost dedicated to my kids. I make things that are warm, useful and especially designed according to needs of children. Items from my shop will be perfect gifts for all occasions from newborns to toddles, such as baby shower, Christening, Christmas and birthdays.

Curly curly... sheep in MusiuMuse hands becomes in a wonderful felt creatures. Visit her SHOP.

My husband has curly hair. My both daughters has curly hair... But I don't! So I just had to start working with something that would compensate this little misunderstanding :) Beautiful curly sheep... 

 Originally I am archaeologist and also worked as a restorer of archaeological artifacts (ancient wood and pottery) until I become a mom. Felting is ancient technique, so it perfectly fits to me. However, I do it in a modern way. 

I use only high quality materials and do the best I can with help of my own hands, boiled water, olive soap and fantasy.

Here is a story of Labos nakties (Good night). Please visit the SHOP.

IDEA: "This began with my mother's experience. At the age of seniors, the parents left the bustle of the city and created a farm in a countryside. Mom was interested in trying something new so she began to raise sheep. I used my mother's knitted woolen products and I enjoyed it without taking a thought why a store-bought wool is not so warm. My children have used grandmother‘s homemade wool comforters for a couple of years. Finally, I realized that all this is the woolly wishes of countryside I would love to share with others." - shop owner Daina.

PRODUCTS: We produce naturally processed wool filled duvets and pillows marketed under the name "Labos Nakties" ("Good Night"). The wool we use is locally farmed, untreated by chemicals and hand-washed only using natural soap, thus preserving its lanolin and ensuring that the wool retains that warm feel and texture, so essential to the finished product.

HOW WE MAKE IT: "Good Night" products are handmade, starting from sheep farming to the final product. Sheep shearing at the farm takes place over a few days and is an interesting sight. Also of interest is 'wool carding', a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibers to produce a continuous web or sliver suitable for subsequent processing. Finally wool webs lies on a luxury cotton cloth, and professional seamstresses hands turns it to lovely bedding.

ECO-FRIENDLY, CHEMICALS FREE: "Labos nakties" production is very close to Mother Nature. Not only the wool we use is natural itself but its processing is also. Commercially processed wool is washed using chemicals. We hand-wash wool using natural soap. The chosen method of processing is much heavier but it ensures high-quality and is environment friendly. "Labos Nakties" products use wool untreated by chemicals, thus retaining all its best features. We preserve natural lanolin, a fatty substance which helps to preserve wool's' softness and waviness. Wool is not only the least vulnerable, but also is pleasant to cuddle up.

My life as a felt-maker began when I became a mom" saying Jurgita. Here is her SHOP and all the story.

I fell in love with felt in 2008 when my first son turned 3 months old. The love grew bigger and bigger with every little thing I used to felt, with every piece of art I found in books and magazines. Before that I worked as an architect in a small company, later I understood I really need more freedom in my occupation, I wanted to see my children growing. I wanted to do what I really loved to. This was working with textile. This was felting.

My very first felt craft was a pair of red slippers for myself: much better than I could have imagined. Afterwards there was a bag with flying little butterflies, slippers for my family and handbags for friends. Step by step I discovered more and more about this old and amazing craft.

We live near a forest and a lake surrounded by wild meadows in summer and magnificent snowdrifts in wintertime with only a few neighbours in the distance.
I work at home. In the midst of beautiful nature I feel so free and creative. I can't imagine myself working alone. Kids, my little assistants, are running around and are always willing to advise me on the selection of colours. My husband is also there with his free sense of art and brilliant ideas. He is my number one quality controller. I love working at home where I can feel free and comfortable.

So this is my life. This is my shop story.

Kiwi bird pillow cover by Pillowlink

Cute white ivory wool color mittens by AIYshop

Flow - satin skirt by WardrobeByDulcinea

Handmade Flat Shoes by WoolenClogs

Monkey Charm Bracelet by EdoraJewels

Chocolate Brooch by DzyDzydesign

Envelope Leather Clutch by WeriBeauties

Stoneware Teabowl by EMceramic

Chunky blanket by Ohhio