When I am looking for a dose of creative inspiration, I turn to Pat's blog 101 Grams of Eye Candy for crafty ideas. She has all these cool crafting tools, fancy printing machines and all the necessary materials, enough to create life size Lalaloopsy standees (true! She made those for a party. It was for our common friend Kris aka OC Mom in Manila). I mean, she's of that level. She can do anything and everything crafty that requires printing, mounting and all that jazz. Then again, that's her business too, does Mundial Marketing ring a bell? Heehee.
I mean seriously, I get that feeling of grade school envy when I read her blog. It's like she's that classmate with the largest stationery collection. The classmate with the fanciest pencil case, and the one with the pencil sharpening machine that spews out poke-your-eye sharp pencils with a few rotations of that hand crank while you have this teeny tiny manual pencil sharpener with a blade that's as dull as your seat mate who repeated the second grade.
You get my drift?
The cool thing with Pat though, is she's just the nicest person! I've met her and she's just so demure and soft spoken, you can't hate her. Plus, did I mention she has such an eye for color and design that everything she makes, you just automatically like? So when she came out with note cards, gift tags, stickers and such for "The Candy Shop", it took me forever to whittle down my picks. And when I did, she graciously sent everything I wanted, plus more! See?
I was so inspired with everything that she sent me that I knew exactly where to place the cut-out letters in the kids room:
I am set on ordering buntings to place above their names, but haven't decided on the words yet
And I loved how my utilitarian choice of packaging - craft paper and baker's twine, was taken to the next level with her colorful, mix and match sticker labels! It really got me excited to wrap presents for Berry's classmates who are celebrating their birthdays in school:
I realize that thoughtful packaging is just as important as the gift you are giving, but it doesn't have to be expensive or an elaborate effort. All it takes is a nice thick sheet of paper, festive string or ribbons, plus of course, labels or note cards that create anticipation for what's wrapped underneath.
Prices for The Candy Shops products average at about Php150 a set. So these make great, budget-friendly gifts for friends and office mates this holiday season too. Check out more of Pat's designs here, here and here.
Visit her Facebook page, here.
To view her online catalog and to order, email info.thecandyshop@gmail.com
