Candybar Wrapper Favors & Gifts

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Well look at these new creations!  have you ever seen such a thing? I mean it’s a candy bar wrapper with style.  When I say style I’m really talking about “clothes”.  Okay so it’s just a hat and some feathers but what a way to bring a 3rd dimension to a candy bar wrapper.  KIDS WILL LOVE THESE!  And so will most adults.

This Thanksgiving character collection was inspired by a snowman that was found on another blog by Laurie Furnell, Find the snowman article HERE.  Psst, We are offering these too at Sweet Expressions!  Back to the Thanksgiving characters.  So these were inspired by this blog that was shared amongst the candy wrapper community.  We all just loved these so much but once I saw them and candy wrappers were buzzing I couldn’t let it stop here!  Had to keep going and only fitting to start with Thanksgiving.  By the way there is an entire Christmas character collection that I’ll blog about soon.

This character collection for Thanksgiving is perfect for your classroom pilgrims and turkeys!  That’s right, pilgrims and turkeys.  I know you’re on the edge of your seat now!  :)  There is a picture at the end but please no peaking yet!  Not only are they great for the classroom parties, teacher’s gifts, preschool, daycare, church classes they are PERFECT for your Thanksgiving dinner table place settings.  What better way to tell everyone “Thank you” for coming.  You can even personalize the back of each one with a separate message to let each person know why you are thankful for them.  Maybe you rather share your favorite scripture or perhaps a Thanksgiving poem, or just a simple message straight from your heart.  If you can’t think of anything, that’s okay, we can and we’ll make sure it presents your style…not ours.

I know you’re scrolling to see a picture so here it is, the unveiling of the Thanksgiving Character Collection Exclusive to Sweet Expressions!!!

Pilgrim Girl and Pilgrim Boy both wearing hats and Tom Turkey with felt feathers!  Now that’s a cute favor.

Celebrate in the classroom…any classroom, celebrate at the office, give these to your clients, give them to friends and use them as your place settings, heck they can be substituted for dessert since it’s filled with a chocolate bar!  you did after all slave over the whole dinner why the dessert too.

These can be ordered in any quantity from 1 to whatever.  They are priced at $3 for 1 or 2 for $5 ($2.50/each for more than 2).  To order simply follow this link–>Order Your Turkey Characters NOW!

Here’s a little day after Thanksgiving tidbit:  You just put away all those leftovers and you really feel like you shouldn’t have to cook for like a week right?  However the family still gets hungry but they have had Thanksgiving up to the ears now cause the food was so good they are totally stuffed.  Here’s a great way to make a new meal out of the old meal.  Depending on how much turkey you have left you could do both.  there’s always turkey salad which will taste much like chicken salad.  Add in your left over turkey, cut it up into chunk sizes you like, add a little onion, onion powder or dried onion flakes, salt, pepper, mayo (it’s gotta be Dukes if it’s available in your area) and maybe even a left over deviled egg or two.  mix it altogether, let it set for a little while in the fridge so all those flavors merge nicely and make some sandwiches for lunch or supper.  I like to add swiss cheese and brown it in a pan like making a grilled cheese….superb!

Make a Turkey style shepherd’s pie!  for the bottom layer start with mashed taters or mac n cheese or both if you have them, then add corn or green beans to the next layer and yes green bean casserole will work!  Next layer add the turkey then throw in that left over gravy if you have any left over (make extra so that you do…trust me), then add some cheddar cheese, bake in 350 degree oven until warm (cheese will be nice and bubbly)  and voila you have a nice day after meal.  It was easy, and now your left overs are gone and you don’t feel like you’re having Thanksgiving all over again.  Next step is go put up the Christmas tree and decorate it while drinking hot chocolate and watching  ”National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”  (that’s what we do)

Don’t forget to count how many pilgrims and turkeys you need and use the link up above.

See you again soon!

Kristal

**Find us on Facebook

BOO!  Did I scare you?  Well I really hope not, in fact I hope it put a little smile on your face.  You know sometimes I wonder exactly what I should blog about to y’all and I really to think about this way too much.  We all know that too much thought can lead to well just sitting there holding the keyboard with nothing riveting to say.  Then one day as I’m playing on facebook when I should actually be working I saw several photographers pages.  And what kind of posts did I see?  Posts about their sessions.  Then it hit me…um hello, why couldn’t I do the same thing?  Not exactly the same because I’m not a photographer but I do help celebrate moments and each time I have a new creation whether it’s my own idea or a customer’s special request I take pictures of the products and there is always a story to tell so why not tell that to you?!  You know, it’s so easy sometimes it’s simple stupid isn’t it?  So here’s my first attempt and I actually have 3 I’d like to blog about so you’ll get an ear full this week.

Last week I had a customer that found us and left a message on my business phone, which is really just my personal cell phone that I’ve attached a local number to for business.  Anyway, her office mate called and left me a message.  I called her back the next day and this how our conversation went.  She was thrilled to hear from me and as I was talking to her she mentioned that she kind of decided spur of the moment to search for candy bar favors and had searched and searched online/google and after several attempts to contact other wrappers she finally found me.  She was a little nervous because my website says I need a 2 week lead time.  That’s true for some orders especially those being shipped but for local orders I can have a 2-3 day turn around on most orders.  She told me what she liked on my website which were minis in royal blue with a ribbon and a standard with a purple color theme and also a gift pictured on it.  However, she like the basic design she wanted a specific color.  She would have been fine with the design she saw on my website and but it possible she wanted black, white and red colors used.  Now I tell ya, when my customer wants a custom option I will do what I can to make that happen.  I don’t want you to like your items, I want you to LOVE them!  I told her I can absolutely re-create a similar items using her colors and I would send her a digital proof to look at and approve before we go further.

This is what she found on the website that she liked:

(standard wrapper)

(mini wrapper)

This is the digital proof I sent her:

This was her response to the digital proof:

Hello Kristal,

All I can say is OMG! I am so pleased with the proofs, you just don’t know!  You captured all of my suggestions and I am so loving them! I have examined the proof and saw not one flaw!

Responses like that make all the time it takes to prepare these personal creations worth it.  I love receiving comments like this and I love helping others celebrate their precious moments.  The customer could not have been happier with the results and as I tell all my customers, if you like the digital proof wait until you see the finished product because the 2 never compare.  See for yourself!

These are the things we feel set up apart from others.  We are in it to make you happy!  I want to create something that expresses who you are, not who I am or what I want.  I want you to know that when I say custom I really do mean custom.  Do we have our limitations?  We have our ethical and moral limitations sure but design limitations…hm, if we have them, we haven’t met them yet!  We also like to go above and beyond and I won’t tell you what it is but we like to include a special little gift, or two, with each order but that’s our inside secret and if you’ve ordered from us before then you know what that is, however I will tell you it’s not always the same ole thing!

We love helping you celebrate your special moments and add that extra pizzazz to your party, event, or holiday.  What are you celebrating?  We want to know!

Until next time,

Kristal

*Picture of the top 2 wrappers are courtesy of OccasionOgraphy® and we are OccasionOgraphy® licensed consultant.  Digital Proof picture and watermarked picture and designs are created and owned by yours truly, Sweet Expressions, LLC.  Do not copy and or use our images or designs without written permission from Sweet Expressions, LLC © 2011 All Rights Reserved

When you think party favors, holiday gifts, birthday gifts and classroom items it’s easiest to think about chocolate and candy.  When I got in the candy wrapping business it was about chocolate bars and mints and hard candy.  Now I’ve narrowed my target market down to birthdays, holidays and classroom gifts my target market is really moms of small kids.  As a mom of 3 small kids myself the last thing we want in the classroom at school or church, birthday parties and holiday parties is more candy for our kids to consume right?!  We could think of the party as a one time deal but lets face it, it’s not a one time deal anymore.  Kids are getting invited to parties left and right.  There’s the school party, the holiday party the church party, the family party and it’s all filled with wonderful sugary goodness.  But how many of us want to raise junk food junkies?  Not many and we want to control their sugary choices and options.  I do it myself with my own kids and even thought they always get personalized products for their birthday, Christmas and other holidays through out the year it’s not always filled with candy.  I like to find other items that the kids will love and make a personalized product out of it. 

A lot of these options are not new so why haven’t you seen them?  Well, I don’t have a straight answer for you except that it’s easier to market candy but it’s obvious that my following is not interested in just candy, you want other options, you want fun options that don’t send your kids like a rocket in the sky to come crashing down hours later into a mush of sugar whine.  (That’s what happens to my kids when they have too much sugar at one time)  Today I’m sharing with you some GREAT alternatives to candy because our products are so versatile Candy is NOT the ONLY option!

Take a look at our standard candy bar wrapper.

Now what makes this wrapper unique is the envelope/pouch that comes with it.  This foil envelope looks like a long coin envelope or like the envelope you get when you cash your check at the bank.  it’s self sealing and oh my, there are so many things that can fit in that envelope.

Do you have any idea of the things that can fit in there?!  I’m gonna share with you some things I personally KNOW fits in here and wraps nicely and your kids will love.  Take a look at this picture first:

That’s right, I can roll that coloring book up put it in the foil pouch, take the 6 crayons out of the box and put them in a small zip bag and slip it right in the middle of the coloring book roll, seal the envelope and wrap it and it turn it into a perfect item for birthday or holiday goodie bags.  The sunglasses, yes they fit too and the Easter bunny brought these to my boys last year and they love them.  Here is a list of other items I don’t have that will also fit:

• Lance 6-Cracker packs (other snack packs this size)
• hot chocolate packets
• granola bars
• protein bars
• baby biter biscuits
• snack size 100 calorie packs
• Check , money or gift card (instead of getting those mundane cards in the card section at the store! (perfect for birthdays, Christmas and Graduations)
• sticker sheets
• chewing gum packs (I know borderline candy…but choose sugar free types)
• small craft kits
• key chains
• long bead necklaces (great for princess party)
• 7” deflated beach ball (Easter bunny brought this for my boys one year too..another winner!)
• mini markers or pens and note pad

This list can go on and on but I’ll stop here cause I bet now your mind is racing with ideas!

Now for the mintbook, which is one of my favorite products because it is so versatile as well!  I just love these little things.

I know, this picture has candy in it but I just want you to see a mintbook as you’re reading.  It’s a cute little 2/2” match book looking thing but it hides a better surprise inside than matches!  Now take a look at this group of “stuff”:

If you’re thinking that stuff might be able to fit into a mintbook then you are CORRECT!  Look at those non-candy items for mintbooks.  By adding one little zip bag the possibilites are endless.  Here you see, necklace, bracelet, emergency sewing kit, lapel pins (American Flag and Jesus Love Me), a pencil.  The pencil fits by simply punching holes at the top and bottom of the mintbook and taping closed rather than using a staple.  I send Zack to school with Mintbook pencils frequently for holidays and use a holiday themed pencil.  What kid doesn’t like a new cool pencil?  I even like getting them!  Here are some more options that I don’t have pictures of:

• temporary tattoos
• small keychain
• earrings
• coins
• hair bows

What else can you think of to fit into a mintbook?  Sometimes it doesn’t have to actually fit in the mintbook, the mintbook can be used like a tag similar to the pencils. 

We have other non-candy items that we’ve been introducing and are great goodie bag and gift options:

• lip balm
• mini bubble bottles
• water bottle labels (I use petite bottled water at my kids parties and offer sugar free drink packets to pour in them)
• Gift cans (decorated gallon sized paint cans…you fill them)

We do have many pictures with our candy options but that does not mean we can’t or won’t substitute for non-candy options per your request.  We are glad to do that for you!  I agree we need to make this more public and let it be known loud and clear that we don’t just offer candy with our products.  So if you see a product you like but you don’t want to get candy you just let me know and we’ll find a solution for you and we also sell wrappers and labels only and you can use them with an item you found!  We give you complete assembly instructions for any Do-It-Yourself Orders!

Celebrating life’s precious moments and personlizing them for you!

Kristal

*Feel free to email us with any questions and/or suggestions to krea...@sweetexpressionsllc.net

I absolutely love using creativity and my computer to bring you unique personalized items for parties, holidays, school and home!  Home you say?  Yes I did!  Many of our products can be used for the home, not just candy.  I use bottle labels not just on water bottles but on my candles, oil carafes, and anything else round and sometimes square that they will fit on to decorate to match my current home theme or the next holiday.  Most especially Thanksgiving/Fall and Christmas.  I even use mock candy bars to put in with my vases for a personal message from my home to all my guests as they arrive for holiday events.  If you didn’t know a mock candy bar is just a standard foil pouch and wrapper filled with a piece of foam rather than a candy bar and with the unique candy bar holders we offer they are easy to slip into your current vase.  I have been known to use mini wrappers on taper candles as well.  Of course as you decorate your home you can’t leave out your candy….it wants to be pretty too!  Did she just say decorate your candy?  I did!  What a great way to describe it right.  Decorate your candy, that you already have in your dish, to match the rest of your home.  This is especially great in the entry way or on the dessert table at your holiday time functions.  Use minis in a bowl with a special message or even use them to play a Santa game or put family members name’s on the back at Thanksgiving if you draw names to see who will buy who a gift!  you’re already doing so much at the holidays to save yourself some time and use standard bars as name cards as well as a dessert and thank you.  Oh, and depending on your type of napkin, use mini wrappers as napkin holders sort of like when you go out to a restaurant and you peel the white band off the napkin….you could do the same with some festive holiday or themed minis.

Now that I’ve recapped the many other unique uses for our current products I’m sure you’re wondering what’s this NEW product she mentioned?  I do believe you’re going to love it and there will be many designs to choose from as we gather supplies, improve the design and brainstorm ideas and implement the ones stuck in our heads now.  As always special requests are accepted and even encouraged.  If you like this and you have a specific color combo in mind, let us know and we will create it for you at the same cost as our premade!  Best of all these have the option of being personalized just for you. 

Drum roll please……the New Product is a unique and oh, so cute.  This one I made with my 10 month old in mind because I noticed I do not have one picture of her on my desk.  Since I mentioned desk these are not just for your desk but for anywhere you want to display pictures in your home and you don’t have a ton of space for frames. 

Ta da:

Isn’t this super cute?!  I’ve created a cute little princess themed photo holder for my little princess and I have included the personalization of her name, that’s it’s a newborn picture and the year (although I just realized I put the wrong year on hers.  um…she was born in 2010, LOL)  I won’t do that to yours I promise!  If by chance I do you’ll receive a digital proof to look over and you’ll have a chance to correct me.  If you’ve seen these before I’m sure you know that most of this is made with some type of cardstock.  Well typically they probably are but what I’m using is a little more durable because we all know what will happen if you have this on a table or desk at home and your little one gets their sticky, greasy or wet fingers on the cardstock.  It could be ruined!  Not this one, we are printing our designs on waterproof, tear proof, smudge proof paper.  The same paper we use to create our water proof labels for bottles and paint cans. Even the circles with the personalization are waterproof so even if you have a spill at your desk your label will be safe.  I can’t say the same for your photo.  What else does ours have that the others don’t?  We are also including a clear sleeve to protect your photo before you place it in the holder.  That’s not gonna make it totally waterproof but it will be protected much like a piece of paper in a notebook where you’ve used page protectors.  These are intended to use with 4×6 pictures.  Perfect for your digital photos you take while out and about cause you know from time to time you get a really cute one you want to show off and look at frequently.

What’s the cost of something as cute as this that is totally personalized?  $3.25 and postage for just one is $1.49!  You’re probably gonna want more than one at a time though.

Not only are these great for photos they are great for name place cards at events, recipe cards, table numbers, holiday cards…what else can you think of using them for?