did someone say dinner is ready?

Tuesday 23 December 2014

holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag

Are you hosting a dinner for family and friends this week? Here's one of my holiday ideas to reduce stress - set the table a few days in advance, if you can. Not only will it be one less thing on your "to do list" the day you are entertaining, you can enjoy looking at your beautiful set table for a few days.

Here's some last minute inspiration for setting your table for the holidays. 

The first grouping ties in nicely with our Into the Woods collection.

holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag

Woodgrain wrapping paper on small boxes and candles, linen napkins, burlap ribbon, baker's twine and cotton ribbons along with woodland animals make this theme come together naturally.

holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag

You may like this next grouping if you prefer something a little more fun and whimsical like our Holly Jolly collection.

holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag

Bold graphic patterns on paper bags, ribbons and napkins, jars and ornaments painted with chalkboard paint, paper straw garlands and fancy cookies packaged in clear favor bags will have everyone smiling on Christmas day.

holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag

Or maybe you are looking for something with a golden touch and a little more grown up like our Glitz and Glam collection ... this last grouping would also be nice for a New Years Eve dinner party.

holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag


holiday dinner inspiration | Creative Bag

I hope you will be inspired to set the table early in a theme that matches your holiday style. One other good reason to set the table before the day you are entertaining - if you forgot something, you will have time to make it or run out and it pick up! Only two shopping days left ... are you ready?

By the way, you can find our holiday hours here!



they won't believe it's wrapping paper ...

Saturday 20 December 2014

wrapping paper inspiration | Creative Bag

Wrapping paper isn't just for wrapping gift boxes. Here's some more ideas to inspire you whether you are decorating for the holidays, planning a party or wedding.

wrapping paper inspiration | Creative Bag

1. Frame it. Use wrapping paper like a piece of art. The smaller shadow box frame in the photo above was used to display a holiday napkin in colours that matched our Holly Jolly wrapping paper in the larger frame.

wrapping paper inspiration | Creative Bag

2. Add a band of wrapping paper to our battery operated candles. I used burlap and ribbon on these candles as well. The ribbon keeps the wrapping paper and burlap in place so you don't need to use glue or tape on the candles.

wrapping paper inspiration | Creative Bag

3. Cover books with wrapping paper. It's easy to make book jackets and it will give your bookcase a whole new look for the holidays - or year round! Use solid colours or pick a pattern that suits your decor.


4. Set the table with a wrapping paper table runner. I used a decorative edge punch along the two ends to give this black wrapping paper a festive touch. I've shown you how to use this punch on paper bags before.

wrapping paper cutter | Creative Bag

One of my favourite tools for gift wrapping is our wrapping paper cutter. Once you've used one of these you will never want to cut wrapping paper with scissors again. 

wrapping paper inspiration | Creative Bag

Happy wrapping!





7 sleeps left to finish your holiday gift wrapping and counting ...

Thursday 18 December 2014


holiday gift wrapping with Creative Bag

Seven sleeps left to finish your holiday gift wrapping ... even less if you are exchanging gifts with friends and family this weekend! We have a number of holiday gift wrapping supplies on sale but quantities are very limited so don't wait too much longer. Here's some of my favourite gift wrapping ideas right now ... 

holiday gift wrapping with Creative Bag

 Our "Into the Woods" kraft wrapping paper is currently my personal favourite and the paper I selected to wrap my family's gifts with this year. This pattern can be used all year long so I'm hoping there will be some left over and I won't have to pack it away after the holidays. 

holiday gift wrapping with Creative Bag

I combined plain kraft wrapping paper and the "Into the Woods" kraft wrapping paper on this rigid clear box with 12 compartments. I arranged jelly belly candies that I purchased in bulk inside the box and I'm using these as an additional gift for a few people that will be receiving gift cards.The printable for the label can be found on this post.

holiday gift wrapping with Creative Bag

Large clear boxes can be used like "snow globes" to make small gifts into something really special. The small box wrapped in kraft paper inside the box holds a piece of jewellery. Add acorns or small pine cones for a natural look like I did. Or if you prefer something a little more sparkly ... use gold wrapping paper and add mini ornaments in festive colours. 

holiday gift wrapping with Creative Bag

Holiday greetings and chalkboard packaging supplies ... what could be more festive. Use chalk markers to write/draw on any black paper packaging product (bags, wrapping paper, etc). Chalk markers do not rub off once the ink has dried so I keep a bunch of them on hand to use on my gift tags as well. 

holiday gift wrapping with Creative Bag

Happy wrapping! 



creative candy packaging for the holidays

Friday 12 December 2014

creative candy packaging supplies | Creative Bag

Looking for food packaging products for holiday gift giving ... we've got everything you need in our stores and online! Shop with us for all of your bags, boxes, chinese take out boxes, cupcake and push pop containers and more. 

free printables for hot and cold food containers for the holidays | Creative Bag

I really like our paper soup/ice cream containers because they can be used for hot or cold treats. You may have seen these in our online magazine, Creative Living - food packaging. I created a few free holiday printables to use on the lids of these containers and you can download them here. The  baker's twine and chalkboard stickers are available in our stores and online

Find more food packaging ideas on our Pinterest boards!







Creative Bag in the media: Weddingbells magazine's 30th anniversary issue

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Creative Bag in the media - Weddingbells magazine

The 30th anniversary issue of Weddingbells magazine is on news stands this week. We just received our copies yesterday and I was so inspired by all of the beautiful photography and creative details. If you know anyone that is getting married or engaged soon, add this magazine to your holiday shopping list - it's a must have for Canadian brides that are looking for local vendors. Weddingbells has a $30,000 giveaway contest to celebrate their 30th anniversary - win a wedding dress, rings and a honeymoon in the Cayman Islands.  


Creative Bag in the media - Weddingbells magazine

I was delighted that we were asked to contribute favour packaging for the modern rustic wedding photo shoot. I love this new twist to one of my favourite wedding/party decor styles. We were given credit for the clear box - the baker's twine and satin ribbon are also available from us. The floral styling and concept for the shoot was done by Stemz, Bobbette & Belle created the favours and the stationery was designed by Paper & Poste.


Creative Bag in the media - Weddingbells magazine

More of our products were featured in the "something new - haute list" ... if you are looking for inspiration there are lots of ideas in this section! 


Creative Bag in the media - Weddingbells magazine

I don't post much about wedding inspiration during the holiday season because we are so focused on holiday gift giving packaging, but we always have wedding products in the stores and online. Shop online at Creative Bag under wedding decor and at Creative Bag Wedding for Weddingstar products. Check out the "NEW" tab at Creative Bag Wedding - many new items for 2015 have just been added. I am in love with many of the new industrial and rustic themed wedding products.

Creative Bag at the Total Wedding Show
We just confirmed that we will have a booth at the Total Wedding Show in January 2015. This was our booth last year at the show. The dates for the show are January 16th to 18th, 2015 at the International Centre in Mississauga. 




Creative gift wrapping ideas: tissue paper gift topper tutorials

Monday 8 December 2014

diy tissue paper gift toppers by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

Have you started your holiday gift wrapping yet? Or do you wait to do it all together after you have finished shopping? Personally, I have always loved the gift wrapping part of the holidays the best and try to get the majority of it done early so that the presents are part of the holiday decor at our house.

 I organize all of my packaging supplies in one place, pull out the bags of gifts I've been hiding in my closet (hopefully my kids are not reading this!) and then I make a pot of tea and turn up the music. This year I am going to be making a number of tissue paper bag toppers - pom poms and tassels. You may have seen these featured in our holiday online magazines, Creative Living.

diy tissue paper tassel gift toppers by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

This is the tissue paper tassel bag topper. It's a tissue paper tassel that has been added to a paper straw using baker's twine

diy tissue paper tassel gift toppers by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

Basic directions for making a large tissue paper tassel:

1.  Cut each sheet of (20” x 30“) tissue paper into two (20”x15“) sheets. 

2. Fold tissue in half (10”x15”) and cut fringes 1/2“ wide starting 1 1/2” down from the folded centre edge. To save time, you can cut multiple sheets of tissue together if you are making more than one tassel.  

3. Open the tissue paper and lay flat. You should have 3” of uncut tissue in the centre of each sheet and fringes on either side. Using one sheet of tissue at a time, roll the tissue as shown above. 

diy tissue paper tassel gift toppers by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

4. Tightly twist the rolled middle section of each tassel as shown above. Untangle and fluff 
out your fringes so the tassels hang nicely.

5. Fold the tassel in half and twist to create a loop for hanging. Add a small drop of glue at the 
bottom of the loop to hold in place. 


diy tissue paper tassel gift toppers by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

6. To attach tassel to paper straw - add a bit of glue to the end of the paper straw and lay it over the loop of the tassel. Once the glue is dry, tie the tassel and straw together using baker's twine.




I've shown you how to make tissue paper pom pom bag toppers before ... here's another variation on this diy using staples and washi tape ...

diy tissue paper pom pom gift toppers by Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag

1. Cut tissue paper into four 20”x 15” sheets and stack together.  
2. Along the shortest edge, start making accordion folds about 1” wide. Crease tissue with each fold.  
3. Staple folded tissue on one end. Use scissors to cut the edges of the opposite end into a rounded, petal like shape.  
4. Use washi tape to cover the staples. Fan the tissue paper and make additional cuts if necessary so that the scalloped edge is fairly consistent.  
5. Separate the layers gently by pulling away from the centre one layer at a time. Do this with all layers.  
6. Fluff the top layers and scrunch the bottom so the pompom topper can be inserted into a bag



Lorrie Everitt from Creative Bag on Rogers Daytime TV (Durham) - diy advent calendar, tissue paper gift toppers and paper straw wreaths



I did a segment on Rogers Daytime TV last week and you can see how to make the tissue paper tassel bag toppers on it as well as some of the other projects that I have been making on the blog for the holidays. See the video from Rogers Daytime TV show here.



start with a jar - holiday gift giving and entertaining ideas and more free printables

Monday 1 December 2014



free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

It's December 1st and the countdown has started! I'm sure that the kids were all excited this morning to start using their advent calendars.

Mason jars are always on my holiday packing supply list. They come in so many sizes and can be used for packaging food and so much more. Here's a simple gift idea: fill mason jars with assorted nuts, popcorn and candy then add printed labels to the lids and finish with a ribbon.

Tip: four 16oz mason jars fit inside our paper bottle bags

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

I created a series of different mason jar labels that can be used on all of our mason jar lids. I left space on most of the labels so that you can personalize them yourself before or after printing them on white card stock. 

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

I used fine point white chalk markers to write on these labels to add to the chalkboard design on the label. Twine or baker's twine work well on smaller jars.

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

These jar boxes are new and are available in two sizes. I added paper bows to the handles with mini clothespins

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag


free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

Here's another gift idea for the tea lover. Package a mason jar mug in large window box along with two glass containers filled with loose leaf tea and a mesh ball infuser. Use paper sizzle to keep the glass containers from rolling around. I created mini sticker designs to co-ordinate with our Into the Woods holiday collection for this project. The stickers are blank so you can personalize them before printing on blank sticker sheets

Note: I added a chalkboard sticker to the mug - the sticker is just decorative and will need to be removed for washing.

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag


ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

Here's another great use for mason jars during the holidays. I use a lot of baker's twine in my holiday packaging projects and I like to store them in mason jars with daisy lids.

free printables and holiday ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

After we designed our Into the Woods holiday collection, we tried to find mason jar themed ornaments to sell in the stores. We could not find any so I came up with another idea ...  make my own ornaments using our mini mason jar shot glasses and lids. I came up with two different ways to hang the mini jars using twine: 1. punch a hole in the middle of the lid and add a piece of twine to hang and 2. tie the twine around the glass and create a loop for hanging.  Glue anything you want inside the jar so it stays in place and once dry add white glitter "snow".

Note: I glued a mini bottle brush tree into one jar and the other contains a "snow bunny" I made using air dry clay. I also spray painted one of the lids black.

free printables and holiday ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

If you've ever been on Pinterest you have most likely seen mason jars used for weddings and party decor. I painted a few of our different mason jars with chalk paint to create the projects above. You can sand them down if you want or just leave them as I have and add a touch of gold glitter to add a little glitz or a simply tie on some baker's twine for a more relaxed look.

Find them here - paper straws, chevron paper straws, chalkboard labels, chalkboard arrow stick

free printables and gift giving ideas using mason jars with Creative Bag

Mason jar mugs filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows make wonderful gifts. Mini marshmallow were packaged in a small clear bag before adding the daisy lid. Other details on this packaging project: linen and cotton ribbons, a gift tag, baker's twine and a pipe cleaner shaped into the letter "A". 

I am looking forward to showing some of these projects and a few more on Rogers Daytime TV Durham this Thursday at 11 and 4. If you live near our Pickering store, I hope that you will tune in!