Wrapping soap

[Dixie]

Does anyone wrap their soap in material? Is it too costly or is it worth the expense? Do you think people like them better than just the cigar bands?

I'm thinking of doing this, I just can't find anything I am 100% satisfied with. I've made boxes of all kinds and bags

Waxed tissue paper is pretty inexpensive; thought I would wrap them in that first and then the material.

 

[heyjude]

Yesterday I went to our town's strawberry festival. Lots of craft tables, lots of food and fun.

Of the maybe 50ish crafters there was only one soaper (gm) who also did candles. There were 3 or four baskets of nicely wrapped soap. Tissue paper wrapped with a cigar band.

I thought I might buy one. I probably would have except I couldn't really smell anything through the packaging and since it was all wrapped up couldn't see anything. There was not a display bar out to know what you were buying.

The person manning the booth did not make any of the products. I wish now that I had said something about how it's nice for people to see what they are paying for.

Even though he lost a customer -- they did look nice. I guess my point is tissue paper w/a cigar band would be nice as long as the buyer knows what's under it .(sorry for the rambling)

Jude

 

[Guest]

I wonder if it would be better to have a bare bar for sniffing and the rest wrapped . Or have the fancy wrapping as an option for gift giving. You could do a test one plain and one fancy and see which one sells best .

Kitn

 

[kittywings]

I've been wondering what people wrap them in too! I bought some brown craft paper at Michael's that I haven't tried yet. It was about $5 for something like 200 yards or so. That would wrap a lot of soap!

 

[rubato456]

i buy rolls of brown or white corrugated paper. it's not too expensive. rolls of hemp twine (cheap) or odds and ends ribbon/elastic and boxes of lose odd and ends buttons. i print ingredient labels on a black and white laser printer i have at home. i wrap the corregated paper around my soap, so the ends are open so they can smell the soap and fasten it together w/ an ingredient label. on the back, put one of my business cards on the front, wrap it up w/ the twine and a button on the front and i'm ready to got. the downside is it takes awhile. upside is i like the look (and they have my contact info plus ingredients are labeled on the soap and they can sniff to their hearts content and soap doesn't get dinged)

 

[IrishLass]

My wrapping has constantly evolved over the past 2.5 years from this to that and to the other!

For awhile I did the soap boxes with the little cut-outs near the top so that you could smell the soap and also partially see it, but those got to be too expensive after awhile, and then when I started making my bars bigger, the soap no longer fit, so I eventually scrapped that idea.

For awhile after that I did the very cost effective french fry bag thing with the bags all trussed up in pretty ribbon enclosures at the top, but I found out that they do not ship very well. They always looked so nice and crisp and pretty as a picture when I put them in a box to mail, but when they reached their final destination they took on quite a rumpled and ragged look from the boxes having been tossed about during shipping. I soon scrapped that idea, too, but now I was left with well over 1,000 french fry bags.......

Not wanting to let the french fry bags go to waste, I cut them open into a rectangle shape and did a nice, form-fitting, origami-type wrap around my soap that another soaper on another forum was very generous to share with everyone, but I scrapped that idea after awhile, too, because I felt it left too much of my soap exposed in the back for my liking.

My latest wrapping technique (that I think I'm actually going to stick with for good) still utilizes the rectangles from my cut-up french fry bags, but instead of the origami-type wrap, I now wrap them up like one would normally wrap up a birthday or a Christmas present, with the exception that I use a scalloped craft punch to punch out a hole on the front of the wrap so that people can smell the soap and also see a little bit of it. It's nice and form fitting and has the same kind of look that the soap boxes had, but for way less $$$$, for I can buy a box of 2,000 french fry bags for only $14 down at Smart & Final.

I love the bags because they are the perfect texture and thickness, I find. They are as thin and dainty-looking as tissue paper, but much more sturdy, and they are so easy to work with. They are also very versatile in that you can cut them to fit for varying sizes of soap.

IrishLass

 

[xraygrl]

When I first started selling, I wrapped raffia around the soap and tied on a tag.....no other wrapping, but the tags didn't do well, and they were always getting pulled of by kids and grown-ups alike (go figure).

I did do fabric wrapping for a bit....I cut it in strips with a pinking edge on my rotary cutter and wrapped and tied, and then attached a hang tag (which were always getting pulled off). I chose a different print for each scent which ended up being a real pita trying to find something that kind of "matched" the scent. They do have a pretty country type look, but it can get quite expensive, AND you can't always ind the same print fabric when it's time to buy again. You can't see the soap either. I suppose it could be simplified if only one print or one solid color were chosen that could easily be found again.

Next I tried a cigar band...then ends were still open so you could snif the soap, and I left one of every soap open so they could see what it looked like. What I didn't like about the cigar bands is that sometimes they would rip or get dirty and would have to be replaced. Also even with a six week cure, I found they would still have to be tighened up after a while.

After that I went to the white boxes with the oval window in the front so they could see and smell, but those can be kind of pricey and the white boxes were always getting dirty (dirt is always a factor you have to think about at outdoor craft shows no matter how careful you are...it's in the air. Also I found them pain to label. I had to use a clear sticker in the front and cut it in half and put half above the oval window, and the other half below the oval window and another sticker in the back with all of the ingredients and contact info.

I think at the very end, I was using Dans Bands with one sticker label with everything on the front. The ends are open for smelling, and the bands are clear so you can see the soap.

OMG no wonder I quit selling....it made me tired just thinking about all that packaging! LOL!

 

[heartsong]

x

hi there!

kitn posted the best idea for wrapping soaps and it's fun, cheap, creative and unique. look in the DIY crafts forum-1/2 soap sleeves. by kitn.

the possibilities are almost limitless!

 

[Dixie]

Hmmmm, so many intresting minds

Yes heartsong, I saw kitns and I love them, but like xraygirl I am looking for something easy, simple that I can do for all of them. One fabric for all or something. I did kinda think about using the brown waxed paper (to look old fashioned) and wraping it in raffia. But for my creative side that is just too plane.

*sigh, I am just too blasted picky lol

 

[xraygrl]

Dixie,

I need to wrap some soaps for gifts and will probably use some fabric. Would you like me to post pics?

 

[Guest]

Not Dixie , but I would love to see pics.

Kitn

 

[Dixie]

Of course I want to see pics!!!!

 

[Dixie]

I've always hear that tissue paper is a "no no" because the color comes off on the soap....so what about White tissue paper? Does it stick to the soap?

 

[Bunny]

One thing that I really like is french fry wrappers. You can buy them in a box of 1000 for around $13, and you can either stamp each one with your own stamp, or sticky label, or simply slip a business card in each one along with the soap bar. The small french fry wrappers will hold a good size bar.... as big as 4" x 4" x 1" (mine are 3 x 4 x 1 and fit really well with none of the bar sticking out. But it does look nice if a little of the bar sticks out). This is a cheap, easy and really cute way to package and OH so simple to do!

 

[xraygrl]

I will post some pics tomorrow. I'm watching a movie with dh right now.

 

[honor435]

i love the cigar band idea, you can see and smell. I went to craft sale and they had wrapped soap in celephane, couldnt smell a thing, i would not buy, if i cant smell. How bout some netting with a ribbon?

 

[Dixie]

Bunny can you post a pic of you wrapped soap?

 

[LJA]

When I first started selling, I wrapped raffia around the soap and tied on a tag.....no other wrapping, but the tags didn't do well, and they were always getting pulled of by kids and grown-ups alike (go figure).

I did do fabric wrapping for a bit....I cut it in strips with a pinking edge on my rotary cutter and wrapped and tied, and then attached a hang tag (which were always getting pulled off). I chose a different print for each scent which ended up being a real pita trying to find something that kind of "matched" the scent. They do have a pretty country type look, but it can get quite expensive, AND you can't always ind the same print fabric when it's time to buy again. You can't see the soap either. I suppose it could be simplified if only one print or one solid color were chosen that could easily be found again.

Next I tried a cigar band...then ends were still open so you could snif the soap, and I left one of every soap open so they could see what it looked like. What I didn't like about the cigar bands is that sometimes they would rip or get dirty and would have to be replaced. Also even with a six week cure, I found they would still have to be tighened up after a while.

After that I went to the white boxes with the oval window in the front so they could see and smell, but those can be kind of pricey and the white boxes were always getting dirty (dirt is always a factor you have to think about at outdoor craft shows no matter how careful you are...it's in the air. Also I found them pain to label. I had to use a clear sticker in the front and cut it in half and put half above the oval window, and the other half below the oval window and another sticker in the back with all of the ingredients and contact info.

I think at the very end, I was using Dans Bands with one sticker label with everything on the front. The ends are open for smelling, and the bands are clear so you can see the soap.

OMG no wonder I quit selling....it made me tired just thinking about all that packaging! LOL!

What's Dan's bands? Do you have a picture?

 

[xraygrl]

Dans Bands are from MMS. They are a clear shrink wrap band. You slide the soap inside, then shrink it. Like I said the ends are open. I will take pics of that tomorrow too....not sure you will see much of anything as they are clear, but I'll give it a shot.


FYI somebody mentioned tissue paper. You can use tissue paper, but you have to use the NON-Bleeding tissue paper.

 

[Galavanting Gifts]

Dans Bands are from MMS. They are a clear shrink wrap band. You slide the soap inside, then shrink it. Like I said the ends are open. I will take pics of that tomorrow too....not sure you will see much of anything as they are clear, but I'll give it a shot.


FYI somebody mentioned tissue paper. You can use tissue paper, but you have to use the NON-Bleeding tissue paper.

What a fabulous idea, is there any chances of DOS being an issue even though the bar is only partly covered?