I like the hang tag idea better. Also like the change in formatting for the front. Thread is better. 

Thanks. I think I've been thinking about this stuff too long, because I am getting stuck on ideas and can't remember why I decided to go that way in the first place. Now that I've tried the hang tag I like it much more than the plastic baggie idea. I think also for the thread I'll find some thick embroidery stuff - all I used was thin cotton thread for sewing, which will probably break after a bit of handling.

Here is a a wild off the top of my head idea... not even sure if it is possible. Speech/thought bubble! Wouldn't it be cool to see them sitting on a table and the tag sticking up over the head like a speech bubble!?  Like I said kind of a hair brained idea but then again sometimes the unique is what sells something and as you said these are one of kinds. Maybe it is time to invest in the cutting machine.

Actually, the design of the puppets is supposed to work with 'thought bubble' props (although less bubble and more words/pictograms attached to the centre of the head where the gap is). I didn't even think of that as an idea for the tags! That wouldn't be too hard to do assuming I can figure out a way to attach them, and then all I need are circular tags instead of folded rectangular ones.

I do hope to buy the cutting machine, but it's way too expensive for me right now. Most of my money has been invested recently into plastic tubs for storage. I'm currently saving up for a decent floor lamp so I can work at night, so that comes first.

But as I said, the idea is to have the cheapest/simplest packaging - I can always upgrade to better ideas when there is more money.

... Hmmm... now I'm going to have to redo my prototype again because I really like that thought bubble idea...

I am kind of surprised it was not your first choice. It really was not my idea but yours.

Personally I feel if you don't do a prototype at least half a dozen times then you can't call it a prototype.

I am kind of surprised it was not your first choice. It really was not my idea but yours.

Haha, seriously, I just didn't think of it. I think I got stuck on the idea that somehow it needs to be weather proof. ... I do think actually that rain is a serious issue. It's winter here already and if I took these plushies to a market now, a paper bag and some crepe paper aren't going to cut the walk to the car home. I don't yet know what I'll do about that part of it, but I think I will head to a market sometime soon and do some window shopping of the packaging of other products.

Personally I feel if you don't do a prototype at least half a dozen times then you can't call it a prototype.

So true! But that's why I'm doing all these tests now. So much easier to say, "no, yes, no, no, yes" with a cheap prototype than later when you've bought packs of supplies.

... Four new pics, one mostly because the colour doesn't get captured properly. I went with a simple circular tag (double-sided, folded over and you can still open it up despite the way it looks in the pics). I'm not 100% sure on the way I'm attaching them, it's basically just winding the cotton thread around the legs of the brads.

I really like this method better than the other hang tags and much better than the baggies. Thank you Shawn!!

I also had a wild sleep-deprived idea this morning thanks to watching far too many episodes of 'The Pitch'. (Series documenting Mad Men in real life) Each plushie is unique, made from scrap fabrics. The description on the hang tag is actually about how scientists aren't just people in lab coats, they're more diverse than that - tying in with the unique design of the plushie obviously. I thought it would be interesting to have odd facts about the universe on the front - instead of the name - that fits with the style of the plushie. Ie. denim + bling = a hang tag about how there's a diamond the size of a planet out there. In this case the hang tag is for a goth black plushie, something a bit darker.

It's probably a completely wrong approach but I thought I'd try it just for fun anyway.

I like word balloons. If you hung it by the top side it could pivot and have a question on one side with answer on the other. I am a scientist, my lab coat has multicolored stains acid holes. I have a suggestion for that one.

"I am a scientist, I see the possiblities for success in each failure.  The stains and holes in my lab coat are proof of the progress toward the next great revelation right around the corner." 

This reminds me of fun fortune cookies or cabbage patch dolls that come with character back stories. They are coming to life.

I like word balloons. If you hung it by the top side it could pivot and have a question on one side with answer on the other. I am a scientist, my lab coat has multicolored stains acid holes. I have a suggestion for that one.

"I am a scientist, I see the possiblities for success in each failure.  The stains and holes in my lab coat are proof of the progress toward the next great revelation right around the corner." 

This reminds me of fun fortune cookies or cabbage patch dolls that come with character back stories. They are coming to life.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not going to do word balloons off to the side simply because the idea is based on the shadow puppets: the puppets will also have the 'hole' in the head, and in that gap you can have word/pictogram props appearing in that hole. I did try using a word balloon for fitting in the 'hole' but I lost a lot of the space used to write the text on.

I'm not sure - can you read the text in the pics? It may help to click on the image so you can, but the massive sizes on my Flickr account should allow you to read it. The back of the tag has a quote by the astronomer the plushie is named after, specially picked to match the idea that each plushie is unique. (The whole blog post I'm quoting from is about how astronomers and scientists in general aren't just the white geeky guys you see on TV)

But yes, the point is that each one is a character   So glad that comes across!

So is each plushie going to have a unique name? That is how I understood it at first then noticed the back said "each Pamela plushie". I kind of like the idea of having the fact but if indeed they each have a different name then you loose that aspect of the design on first look. I wonder if you could combine the two ideas.  Hi my name is ______ did you know ....

No, same name, different look. The thing is that each character is going to be based on someone/something in real life. As you can imagine, that would be impossible to do after a while because each character will need its own design as well. At this stage I'm going to do the female character, later adding a male, and then expand it to include two animal characters.

I don't think it matters too much that they all share the same name but will be in different materials. It's no different than getting up and wearing a different outfit in the morning

I could combine ideas... in the explanation it does talk a bit about who the character is based on, and there's no reason I can't put in a little 'did you know' fact in there. Especially if it's something the person has actually discussed. ... I think there is even room for it on the inside of the circular tag.

PS. Just cleaning up more of my work space and taking all of my fabrics out of a bag to put into a plastic tub for easier storage. I think the first batch of these will be made with fur... turns out I have way more of that than I thought.

Part continuation of this thread, part of this one:
http://puppetsandstuff.com/community/index.php/topic,8255.msg75557.html#msg75557

Tonight was the last-minute local event I talked about previously. I planned to go and take a gift for one of the people at the event, an astronomer who is the inspiration behind the female character for my new designs. Last week I tried to make a plushie for the gift. This was to have my new fabric labels attached, etc. However, when finishing the first sewing of the outline I turned it inside out to discover that my stitches were not very tight in places. I'd been down with the flu the week before and didn't think I'd have enough time/energy/patience to start again.

So I decided not to go after all.

And then I woke up this morning and changed my mind :P

What resulted was a 5-hour panic of rushing around. I got up and realised I had enough time to go run last-minute errands so rushed for the shower and the bus (it comes once an hour - you miss it, you're whole day is out of whack). I speed walked from the bus to Officeworks and picked up a pack of business cards to print at home, ran across the street to the craft store to pick up some bags (more on that in a moment), just in time to get the bus back home. Spent the next half hour printing out business cards and whatnot, then half an hour packing all my bits and pieces to take with me. Along the way to the bus to the event I stopped off at the newsagent to pick up some crepe paper. Waited 20 minutes for the bus and made a head-start on finishing stuff, which I continued on the bus itself. Once arrived in the city, spent the rest of my time hurriedly completing my gift. Arrived at the event a touch late, sat where I could, enjoyed 2 hours of interesting discussion from 3 speakers. At end of event, handed my gift over...

Now for what I actually did:
Because I couldn't complete the plushie I wanted, I just used my prototype, as pictured below. I had been using it as a pin cushion so I sincerely hope I didn't leave any needles hidden in the stomach - I found four by accident just from squishing it around in my fingers a bit. I had fabric labels already, but because I had sort of planned to go, I happened to have some test paper tags printed out from Officeworks. (A story in itself!) These are just single-sided prints on the highest gsm I could go, plain white bond paper. On the bus I attached the fabric label to the back of the plushie, and once I arrived in the city cut out the paper labels and made holes, attached them with brads (paper fasteners) and thick embroidery white cotton thread. -- I attached the thread just by knotting the two ends together, hooking the loop onto the brad legs, wrapping the other end of the thread around the plushie head and then hooking it to the brad legs again. I'm not sure how secure it is really...

Then I used the crepe paper to wrap the plushie in, and some pre-printed stickers I made to hold the folds of the crepe paper down. Some of the stickers have the company name on them, and the others have the company slogan. Slotted in is a business card, double-sided, which I'd had designed and haven't even gotten the files yet: I used the proof!

The whole thing went in a white paper bag, with a sticker on each side. The company slogan is "we play with stardust", so I also inserted a small packet of star glitter. And there was also a letter for giftee, on a letterhead.

It's not a perfect job: the punch I used to make holes in the paper tag left markings; the stickers wouldn't stick down; I folded the crepe paper wrong; the paper bags I bought were not the ones I wanted and I couldn't make handles like I wanted.

I did however get good feedback after the gift was opened (don't ask me what - I've been scratching my head over it, and it just went in my ears and out again as soon as it was said), but I definitely remember hearing "I'm so honoured", and I got a few hugs and a photo, as well as interest if/when the plushies are available for sale (not necessarily to buy, more like as something she can plug).

... On the other hand, I'm pretty sure in my typical crap-social-skills way.... I didn't actually introduce myself. :P

Anyway the sum of this is that for a last minute rush, things turned out pretty well packaging-wise.

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/littleboxbiguniverse/sets/72157635489278949/

Don't be so hard on yourself. I think it all turned out quite nicely. I think the stickers are a great idea. So versatile.

Thanks. I do think it turned out well, my only real wish was that the stickers worked. They kept falling off the crepe paper and my folding job wasn't so good that it looked professional. In retrospect, if I had had the time I would have made the wrapping look more like this, minus the twine:
http://www.fairweatherfriendsblog.com/2011/11/packaging.html

What I should do is make the wrapping so it's more like a burrito, and then fold the excess at the top end downwards and use a sticker there. That way there's one fold that needs holding down, which uses up less stickers, which makes it cheaper to wrap.

-- What you don't see pictured is also the pages of stickers and business cards I ruined trying to get the template positioned right. My template for some reason didn't match up with where the items were on the actual paper.
On the other hand, I had a handful of good double-sided business cards and stickers and those ones came out really well. I'm glad I did both the slogan and the company name, it allowed me to add some of each to the bag.