Handmade Button Gift Packs - Red Owl

I've recently added some button gift packs to my shop http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40216620. I've packaged these buttons in little mini CD cases that I've decorated with a decorative cover. The second picture shows the cover of the CD case. The first picture shows the inside of the CD case with the buttons. The inside cover is blank so you can write a message to the person you're giving the gift to. Inside the CD cover I include a little tag that says "Secret Pal". This can be changed to the persons name or some other phrase such as Happy Easter, Mom, Button Collector or anything else that you would like. I think these are a little bit of a special way to gift a button gift. Of course the packages of buttons themselves can be given as gifts but sometimes it's nice to have an extra special presentation for even the smallest of gifts. We'll see how these go over but I think they turned out quite well. What do you think?

Pink and Green Owl Buttons - Handmade

I quickly uploaded these little guys last night http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40045782 to my shop. I think they're adorable. I have quite a few owl buttons in the process and will hopefully get them done this weekend. I think they're adorable and although I know they're popular and trendy right now I still like to make them - even if it makes me look like I'm simply jumping on the owl bandwagon.

Branding

I'm trying to figure out how to brand my products. I've read a lot which says that branding is important. I think up until now I've packaged my products in a simple way. I was packaging my buttons on a simple hang tag. I think they looked kind of cute but they didn't have my contact information on the packaging. I've recently switched to adding a bag topper and placing the buttons in the bag. I think they look kind of cute and they do have the information for all three of my website. We'll see how it goes. I know that if I want to move this business forward as a business and not just a hobby that I have to figure out packaging, branding etc. I also have to be able to ship economically (which is a problem in Canada because the postal rates are pretty high compared to the United States.) I've had some really cute packaging ideas but if they bump up the shipping to the next category they more than double my shipping charges which make the little buttons too expensive to ship. No one wants to pay that much shipping for buttons - even if they are in a cute package. I do have an idea for packaging up some gift type buttons (maybe some for a secret pal or just because gift etc.) but I won't talk about that just yet until I work out the kinks. For now here is a picture of how I currently package my buttons.

Red Owl Buttons

Here are some of my newest buttons. I'm quite in love with these but then I always love my newest creations best! I know that owls are everywhere on Etsy and and some people think they're a bit overdone. I just know that I fell in love with this image and couldn't wait to get these buttons made. I like them so much I'm going to make a bunch more similar owl buttons in different colours. These are at www.buttonsbyrobin.com and the direct link to the listing is http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=39766135.