Shipping Discovery! (plus tutorial)

I just love making small cookie sets for gift-giving!  Nothing too big, just enough to tell someone thank you, or Happy Birthday, or simply that you are thinking of them.  I used to package them in cello bags with a cute ribbon, until BRPBoxshop came out with their new cookie boxes.  The small size, I have found, is just perfect for these little sets!  With a nice sized scalloped window, and using colorful shred to nestle the cookies in, they couldn't be more perfect.  The problem with these small sets is that some people want them shipped.  And we all know that packaging for shipping isn't usually a pretty thing, since you can't really present the gift box as-is - the cookies will slide around, and they need extra cushion to prevent breakage, plus the cost of shipping!  Welllll... yesterday I made a major discovery - the small cookie boxes from BRP fit perfectly into...are you ready...a SMALL FLAT RATE Priority shipping box!  I thought nothing would ever fit in those dang small boxes!  And I thought for sure I would have to ship this Mickey & Minnie gift box in a medium Priority box, which is twice the price.  Not so!  And the small flat rate boxes are only $5.35 ($5.15 if you print your labels online.) AND the boxes are free.  AND they will even pick it up at your door!  I WAS JAZZED!  So I thought I'd show you, since I know you're shaking your head and rolling your eyes at me - just like you I have never actually fit anything into those small flat rate boxes.  Which is why I had them laying around - I brought them home, and was never able to actually use them!

 

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This is all you'll need:

small BRP cookie box, small flat rate priority box,  a bit of tissue paper (I recycle mine from my shipments from Karen's Cookies - thanks Mike!), a bit of shred, a bit of bubble wrap (also recycled), tape, a piece of sturdy cardboard (not shown - sorry - but also recycled, from another Priority box :) and, of course, your cookies.

 

 

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Take your tissue and line the box with it.  Place the cardboard on top - it should be smaller than the lining of the box.

 

 

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Take your wrapped cookies and make inside-out tape rolls/loops (so the outside is sticky) and stick them to the backs of your cookies.  Place & stick the cookies onto the cardboard so they will show nicely thru the box window.  Note I covered my cardboard with yellow cardstock to make it blend better (unless you are using, say, white shred : ) - you could also use cute themed scrapbook paper.

 



 

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Stuff shred around the cookies - where there is packaging, put some shred under to make it look like it's sitting in shred - but do not put shred between the cookie and the cardboard - it will defeat the purpose!  You want the cookies sitting right on top of something that will not bend.  Also, stuff extra shred along the outside where you can - build it up as much as you can so that it will be right up on the inside of the lid when closed - this makes it so there is no movement of the contents of the box.  You can add a little card, tag or your business card/sticker on it (again, sorry, forgot the pic!)

 



 

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Take a piece of bubble wrap (the small bubbled kind) just big enough to cover the top and sides of the cookie box - no need to cover the bottom since a) there is already cushioning inside the bottom of the cookie box and b) this makes a perfect fit inside the priority box - with NO MOVEMENT!

 

 

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I wish you were here to shake the box - nothing moving in there at all!!!!  And in case you are wondering if this is really enough cushion... I normally ship cookies "floating box-in-box" style, but not with these.  This shipping box is small, and unlike the larger boxes, its small size makes it much sturdier!  I couldn't push it down in the center at all.  You may, however, want to add some "FRAGILE & PERISHABLE" labels, and maybe give a few cookies to your postal carrier...

 

 

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Here is a plaque cookie that I made using a Plastics in Print (PIP) cutter - fits sooo perfectly in the box!  Next time I would add a few minis to this one...

 

 

Here is another plaque that fits just right...

 

 

  Also, my cupcake and candle gift boxes are in this box as well. (not the best pic sorry!)

 

 

 

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And there you have it : )

 

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As I mentioned in a few previous posts, there is a GIVEAWAY coming...including some items that were donated by three of my favorite vendors...here's a hint...these vendors were all mentioned in this post...and USPS is not one of them! Watch for it in the next few weeks, or days, depending on what life throws at me!

 

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Happy Baking & Shipping!