Food Packaging Inspiration

It's no secret that we're a little obsessed with food packaging. Karen Mordechai of Sunday Suppers has THE best ideas when it comes to food styling and presentation. I can spend all day reading this site. Warning: make sure you have plenty of snacks nearby, it's full of drool-worthy shots of food and I always leave hungry.

I'm starting to plan for the holidays and this Honey Fromage Blanc + Granola pair has been sitting on my list of to do's for ages! I think it'll be perfect for a holiday brunch or maybe as a welcome basket for new neighbors!

Images: Karen Mordechai/Sunday Suppers

Homemade Holiday Gifts & Packaging

Featured image/story from Tartelette

I was delighted to have a recent project of mine (a gift of homemade caramel sauce with printable labels) featured in this week's iVillage roundup of Homemade Gift Ideas. There are 24 scrumptious gifts to make (with a lot of sweet packaging ideas included), ranging from savory to sweet. So there really is something for everyone. Hop on over for some inspiration and have a weekend filled with crafty gift-making fun!

Last minute gift idea

Short on cash and time? Need a last minute hostess gift for the fifth holiday party you've been invited to this year? No worries! Just hit your local grocery store, pick up a few items and you'll be on your way to creating this very easy DIY S'mores Kit that's sure to be a hit with kids of all ages!

You'll need:

• 1 box of graham crackers
• 1 bag of marshmallows
• 1 big chocolate bar of your choice
• bbq wooden skewers (optional)

Supplies:

• Cellophane bags, Michaels or Party City
• Glassine bags or parchment or wax paper
• Baker's twine, nicepackage.com
• glue stick or double-sided tape
• large round punch or any object that you can trace to make a 2" circle
• pens/markers

This kit includes 9 marshmallow pieces, 1/2 bar of hazelnut chocolate and 1/2 bar of milk chocolate, 9 large pieces of graham crackers and 9 wooden skewers.

We used a mixture of cellophane and glassine bags to repackage all of the items. If you can't get your hands on glassine bags, you may also use parchment paper or wax paper to create a protective sleeve/band for the chocolates. The crackers I purchased came with two ready-packed bundles!

The labels are simply punched out of kraft paper using a 2-inch circular punch, embellished with a red dotted border (super fine red sharpie) then attached to the packaged goods using a glue-stick.

Enjoy!

xo Ez + Marichelle

P.S. If you will be giving a similar gift (using repackaged food) it is best to include a list of the ingredients for those who may suffer from allergies, or to save the wrappers in case they are needed.