Meet the Maker's Event - Mark your calendar for Saturday November 12

Wednesday, 26 October 2016




We have so many wonderful and talented customers that shop in our stores everyday. We always love to see what local makers and bakers are packaging. We also love to hear about the parties, weddings and events that are being planned. 

So mark your calendar for Saturday November 12, 2016. That is when we are going to host our first Meet the Maker's Event at Creative Bag Toronto from 10am to 5pm. Plan to shop for handmade gifts from three local makers and stock up on all of your holiday packaging supplies during the event. While you are in the store - fill out a ballot to win a basket full of holiday goodies! 

Here's our three Makers ...


Doris Wai from Love Lettering

Doris gives life to modern illustration and lettering. She creates beautiful signage for those special moments in your life. She sells her custom art, signage and paper goods in her “Love Lettering” Etsy shop online and at local shows like the One of a Kind Show from November 24 to December 4, 2016. 




Karen Wong Chiu from Oh MyInspired

Karen combines her love for watercolour designs and ink doodles with words of inspiration to create her beautiful cards and prints. She sells her handcrafted paper goods in her “Oh My Inspired” Etsy  shop online and at local shows like the Craft Ontario Craft Show from November 4-6, 2016.


Marine Lippa from Parties Made Simple

Marine creates peanut and nut free cookies, cakes, cupcakes, fudge and truffles for special occasions. Looking for something different to do with kids? Ask Marine about her baked goods decorating kits.  Her adorable gingerbread house and gingerbread cookies can currently be seen on display in our Creative Bag Toronto store.

 I hope to see you at our first Meet the Maker's Event!





Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: ,

Making the holidays a little sweeter with holiday cake toppers

Friday, 14 October 2016



holiday cake and cupcake toppers | creativebag.com

I'm so excited about our new and exclusive holiday cake and cupcake toppers. There are two cake toppers and three cupcake topper and they are all laser cut from birch wood. They are a fun way to add a little holiday spirit to your baked goods and holiday entertaining decor.


holiday cake and cupcake toppers | creativebag.com

I added our "Joy" cake topper to a store bought cake that I embellished with candies and assorted baked goods.

holiday cake and cupcake toppers | creativebag.com

Cake toppers are not just for cakes! Take for example our "merry and bright" cake topper on this mini apple crumble pie.

holiday cake and cupcake toppers | creativebag.com

And our cupcake toppers are adorable on mini pies! The "star" cupcake topper and the "merry and bright" cake topper co-ordinate with our Cameron holiday collection.

 holiday cake and cupcake toppers | creativebag.com

Our cupcake toppers are available in three different designs - star, tree and deer. 

sweet winter wedding favour | creativebag.com

Planning a winter wedding or party? Here's a fun favour idea using our cupcake toppers and domed glass bell jars. I placed a star cupcake topper into a raspberry marshmallow created by Caitlin Elaine of Cakelaine. Doris Wai from Love Lettering added her hand lettering on the domed glass favours for a personal touch.

add a golden touch to a plain white cake topper using a gold foil pen | creativebag.com

If you are getting married soon, don't forget that we sell a large variety of wedding cake toppers. Like this "best day ever" cake topper that I embellished with a gold leaf pen. You can find my diy tutorial to do this here.

add a golden touch to a plain white cake topper using a gold foil pen | creativebag.com

Both of these beautiful wedding cake photos were taken at a styled shoot I did earlier this year with an amazing team of local creatives. 

You can check out our whole style shoot team here: photography by Attakat, cake and confections by Cakelaine, flowers by Periwinkle Flowers, custom invitations by Alicia's Infinity, tabletop and decor rentals by The Perfect Table, hand lettering by Love Lettering, paper flower backdrop rental by Confetti and Bows, location The Warehouse Venue.






Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: , , , , , , ,

wrapping paper is not just for wrapping gifts!

Friday, 30 September 2016

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

Wrapping paper is not just for wrapping gifts. And here's 10 DIY project ideas to inspire you.

I created these projects with holiday entertaining and decorating in mind but you can use the same projects with whatever wrapping papers you want for a wedding reception, party or holiday entertaining. 

I used three co-ordinating wrapping papers that are currently in stores and online. One wrapping paper is solid gold, one has a simple gold and white confetti dot graphic and the third one has a fun hand lettering print in gold and white. 

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

1. Use wrapping paper as a matte for photos. Simple frames work best so your wrapping paper and photo take centre stage.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

Tip: If you are using a wrapping paper with a print, your photo should have a white border.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

2. I framed this beautiful gold wrapping paper and used a white marker to add a message to the outside of the glass.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

Tip: Use a solid paper so your hand lettering stands out. You can trace an image onto the glass if you don't have great handwriting. Use a water based marker that can be removed from the glass.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

3. Here's one more framed wrapping paper idea. This time I framed the wrapping paper and glued a mini clothespin to the glass to hold a photo.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

I love this concept of adding the clothespin to the glass to hold a photo. It makes changing photos easy and quick. Think of it. You could change the photos that you display every day during the holidays. You could even use this as a holiday countdown and feature cards with numbers.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

4. Got lots of books? Use wrapping paper as book jackets.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

You can use the books as decorative elements in your decor. You can also use them in food displays to elevate serving dishes. 

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

5. You can also use bands of left over wrapping paper on boxes. Decorated boxes can be used in displays and like books, in food presentations to elevate cake stands and serving dishes.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

6. Wrapping paper bands can also be added to mason jars. I spray painted my mason jars and added satin ribbon to finish.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

Jars can be used in so many ways. As a vase for flowers, as a base for signs on a sweet table and as a container for utensils to just name a few.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

7. You can create your own cake liners by laminating wrapping paper. I showed you how to do this here. 

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

8. Flameless candles will match your decor when you add a band of wrapping paper and finish with a simple ribbon.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

Tip: Flameless candles work best for this project. There will be a fire issue with real candles.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

9. Wrapping paper and tissue paper were used to turn ordinary chocolate bars into pretty favours. I wrapped the chocolate bars in gold tissue paper first and added a band of wrapping paper to finish. Stack these up on a sweet table. Add a ribbon and maybe a name tag to use as escort cards at table settings.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

10. Make your own favour packaging like these using wrapping paper. I've shown you how to make the paper tube favours before and I'm going to show you how to make the small flat bag now ... 

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

Supplies: download template file, wrapping paper, scissors, two-sided tape, pencil, ruler, bone folder.

1. Print and cut out the flat bag template. 
2. Use a pencil to trace out the template and mark the areas that need to be folded.
Note: If your wrapping paper has a pattern like my example, make sure that it will be right side up when you trace the template.


10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

3. Score the fold lines on the wrapping paper bag as indicated on the template. 
4. Cut the wrapping paper bag and fold. 
5. Add two-sided tape to the bag in the two areas as indicated on the template.

10 wrapping paper projects that don't involve gift wrapping | Creative Bag

6. Peel and stick the two-sided tape on the back side as shown above.
7. Peel and stick the two-side tape on the bottom flap of the bag as shown above.
8. Here's the fun part - you can make these simple bags your own by using decorative scissors to cut the top. I used a hole punch to create two holes so I could add ribbon or twine to close.



We'd love to see if you make any of these wrapping paper ideas. You can share your finished projects with us on Instagram using @creativebagco and #creativebaginspire









Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Hand Lettering on our chalkboards. Do It Yourself or hire an hand lettering artist!

Wednesday, 28 September 2016




Earlier this year, I organized a boho inspired styled wedding shoot with a number of local wedding vendors that were taking part in ReBash 2016. 


Today I am excited to tell you that this beautifully hand lettered chalkboard by Doris Wai has been featured here along with my DIY hand lettering on chalkboards tutorial.   


In my DIY tutorial, I created a free download to recreate the hand lettering on this ornate chalkboard ... 


... and a free download to recreate the hand lettering on these smaller chalkboard signs.

Our chalkboard markers and chalkboard signs can be used for more than just weddings - they are perfect for parties, home decor and retail displays.

By the way, if you are looking to hire a hand lettering artist, we highly recommend Doris Wai.


 We think Doris is pretty talented. So talented, that we hired Doris to design this beautiful white and gold holiday print. It's available now as wrapping paper and tissue paper!






Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: , , , , , , ,

Read it now! Our new online magazine - Creative Packaging Inspiration for Creative Entrepreneurs.

Friday, 23 September 2016




Saturday September 24, 2016 is the Etsy Made in Canada Event. There will be pop up markets all over Canada on Saturday filled with local Etsy shop owners. I will be at the MaRS building in Toronto with the Etsy Made in Canada Toronto team. It will be a great day to check out local handmade goods and the creative entrepreneurs who made them. 

I have a workshop at 3:30 with the 25 people who were able to sign up in advance for tickets to the free event.


We have many creative customers that will taking part in the Etsy Made in Canada Event all over Canada. At Creative Bag, we know that good packaging can help to sell products. So I teamed up with four local Etsy shop owners to create an online magazine filled with packaging inspiration for creative entrepreneurs. It's live now and I hope that you will check it out.


Thanks to Doris, Alicia, Robin and Karen for working with me on this project.








Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: , , , ,

holiday wrapping and tissue papers have arrived

Thursday, 8 September 2016

holiday gift wrapping supplies | Creative Bag

The kids are back to school, fall is quickly approaching and our new holiday products are arriving almost daily. Our holiday wrapping papers and tissue papers have arrived and our staff are busy filling the shelves.

Check out our 2016 exclusive holiday collections - Cameron, Cottage Life and Love Letters.  Many of the  products in these three collections were designed so they could be used all year round. So don't wait until the holidays to check them out.



Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: , , , ,

These exclusive nonwoven tote bags won't last for long!

Thursday, 25 August 2016




These exclusive lightweight non-woven bags are great for shopping and trade shows. They are 100% reusable and available in a variety of sizes, colours and styles. 

At just 99 cents each for orders of 1 to 99 and 85 cents for quantities of 100 plus, these bags are not going to last for long. Quantities are limited and while supplies last.




Posted by at /// Leave a Reply
Labels: