It really *is* all about the packaging. Shortly after I started CBT, I wanted to stand out from the crowd a little bit. Create a little bit of excitement when our packages arrived.
What better way than in the packaging?
Normally we have our famous Owl tissue paper, but our supplier was out of it when I went to pick up my supplies this past Saturday. I brought a friend along who is creating goody bags for an event, so we decided on colourful tissue paper, of which I gave her a few set of to get her started - it was a BIG batch of tissue paper! But no worries, I'll be popping back to my suppliers'
I picked up my boxes though...and stamped all 80 of them this morning! They might last me a few months (more likely not at the rate we're going!). I find the stamps make us stand out, and get customers excited when our orders arrive. I also enjoy being able to provide a personal touch to every order (aside from the toys I create!)
I picked up this cute Feather Stamp from an Etsy seller - I'm all about supporting other Small Business owners, and this was the perfect stamp to add to my growing collection
I also found a cute set of mini Owl & little bird themed stamps while picking up some supplies from the UPS in Ogdensburg, New York.
It is a bit of a project, but after doing this for a few years, I just get into the stamping zone, and get them all done at once. It's much easier for me to do big batches vs only a few.
We won't go into how in the beginning I hand stamped Every. Single. Business Card/tag. Thankfully Husband was kind enough to buy me business cards the first Christmas after I started CBT. I could NOT keep up with stamping
That's all for today for a bit more insight into the workings of Crystal's Bird Toys.

We're back with more of "The Making Of"!
Husband and I enjoy Sci Fi - whether it be another round of watching Star Trek the Next Generation from the first season to the last, or indulging ourselves with the newest Sci Fi movie in the living room with our zoo surrounding us - it just makes us happy.
No, we don't go around taking Klingon or making neat laser shows in our backyard - it just lets our imaginations run wild, and generally we don't sleep through Sci Fi movies/shows. This is a definite bonus!
I saw this star toy at the store, and thought it would make a great durable bird toy once I added my special touches to it! If a bird can have a Kong toy, it can certainly have another toy created from the same material.
With Andromeda (I was in the star-naming mode), the various sizes of popsicle sticks (hand dyed - one-by-one) are a feat in themselves for our boys to take out and gnaw away at - I just love it! It's simple (for my standards), but fun and thought provoking for the birds.
Have I mentioned I enjoy puzzles too?
Off to create some more good puzzling toys designs!