Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02541608 2006-03-31
DECORATIVE BAG KIT
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of gift packaging. In
particular, it
relates to a kit for creating a decorated gift bag or box.
Background of the Invention
[0002) Traditionally, when gifts are exchanged, the gifts are provided with a
form of
wrapping in order to conceal the nature of the gift from the receiver until
the time of
opening. Due to the time required to wrap gifts in paper, as well as the
difficulty in
wrapping very small or awkwardly-shaped items, the use of decorative bags
("gift bags")
or boxes has become more common. Gift bags also have the additional benefit of
being
readily re-usable without any degradation of the bag.
[00031 While some gift bags are merely provided as a bag made in a presentable
color, they are often decorated with patterns, designs, photographs and even
licensed
images of popular characters from animation and comics, particularly those
directed to
children.
[00041 In the interest of providing a more personalized touch, it would
beneficial to
make available gift bags which allow the user (gift giver), particularly a
child, to
personalize the bag. Ideally, this can be accomplished by providing bags which
have
uncolored designs or templates which can be colored by the user. However, a
complete
product should also include implements to allow the user to modify and
customize the
visual appearance of the bag without the need for additional purchases. This
provision
would permit the personalized bag to be purchased and prepared rapidly in a
fashion
equivalent to a conventional gift bag.
[00051 It should also be noted that many bags currently available have a
coating,
either decorative or protective, which inhibits the ability to apply color or
other designs to
the bag. Any personalized gift bag product should provide design implements
that are
compatible with the material and coating of the gift bag.
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CA 02541608 2006-03-31
Summary of the Invention
[00061 According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
kit for
preparing a decorative container, the kit comprising: a container having one
or more
exterior designs thereon suitable for modification by an end user and a set of
design
implements for modifying the exterior designs and the visual appearance of the
container.
The container is preferably a bag or a box.
[0007] Various types of design coloring implements can be provided. Coloring
implements, such as crayons, colored pencils, felt markers, chalk, paints and
brushes, or a
combination of these implements can be provided for coloring designs on the
container.
Preferably, the designs include indicia (preferably letters or numbers)
indicating which
color is to be applied to different regions of the design. Other design
implements, such as
stickers, stamps (self-inking or with ink pads) and stencils can be provided,
either with or
without coloring implements.
[ooosl The designs are preferably pre-printed on the container, but
alternatively can
be provided as stencils or as stick-on templates. In the case of stick-on
templates, they
optionally can be designed such that the templates are colored and then
applied to the
container.
[00091 According to another aspect of the present invention, the kit further
includes
additional containers.
[oolo] The advantage provided by the present invention is the provision of a
kit that
allows a user, particularly a child, to produce a creative and individualized
product while
providing assistance in increasing the artistic quality of the final product.
[00111 Other and further advantages and features of the invention will be
apparent to
those skilled in the art from the following detailed description thereof,
taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0012] The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example
only,
in the subsequent text. The invention is of such a nature that exemplary
drawings are not
necessary for a complete understanding of the invention.
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CA 02541608 2006-03-31
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments
[00131 Within this specification, the term "bag" is used to generically
describe a
container as embodied in the present invention. More particularly, "bag" is
generally
understood to mean "bag" or "box", unless specifically indicated otherwise.
[00141 In its most general embodiment, the present invention consists of a kit
for
creating decorative bags. The kit contains a bag, a design on the bag and a
set of artistic
elements for customizing the design on the bag and the overall visual
appearance of the
bag. One particular kit consists of a white bag, with a design of a cartoon
character pre-
printed on the bag, and a box of crayons, most likely an 8-count box, being
the smallest
available size that includes the largest range of colors. Another embodiment
of the kit
includes multiple bags, either with identical designs or a number of different
designs. A
larger number of coloring implements may be provided with the multiple bag
kit, to
allow for greater variety in the final decorated bags.
[00151 Other types of coloring implements that can be used include, but are
not
limited to, colored pencils, felt markers chalk, or even paints (with
brushes). For larger
kits containing multiple bags, a number of different coloring implements could
be
provided, e.g. colored pencils and felt markers. It should also be noted that
the material
of the bag may restrict or otherwise determine the choice the coloring
implements. For
example, the coating used on some bags may not allow the wax from crayons to
adhere to
the surface, so wax crayons would not be a suitable coloring implement for
that type of
bag.
[0016] Other types of artistic elements that can be used include, but are not
limited to,
stickers, stencils, stamps, glue-on sparkles (with or without glue). These
elements can be
used in place of coloring implements to color the design or in conjunction
with coloring
implements to further customize the design.
[00171 In preferred embodiments of the invention, the design or designs are
pre-
printed onto the surface of the bag. Typically, the design is only printed on
the "front"
surface of the bag, but bags may have designs printed on the "front" and
"back" surfaces
if desired. For boxes, the design is typically printed on the "front" or the
"top", although
any or all available surfaces may have designs printed on them.
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CA 02541608 2006-03-31
100181 Types of designs can be wide-ranging, from traditional patterns
(flowers,
balloons) to images of popular characters from television and comics,
particular those
directed at children. Stylized text for common gift salutations ( e.g. "Happy
Birthday",
"Congratulations") or holiday themes (e.g. "Merry Christmas", "Happy
Valentine's
Day") can also be used as part of or as the whole of the design. Additional
text can be
included (e.g. "To:", "From:", "Love,") to identify the gift giver and gift
recipient.
[00191 As an alternative, the designs can further include a coded number or
letter
system, such that different regions of the design are marked with a letter or
number
indicating which color is to be applied to that region (colloquially, "paint-
by-numbers").
[00201 As another alternative, as opposed to using bags with pre-printed
designs, a
stencil can be provided with a blank bag, to allow the end user to apply the
design to the
bag themselves. This embodiment is more suited to kits with multiple bags,
preferably
also with multiple stencils. For example, a kit can contain 15 small bags (for
party
favors), 3 different design stencils, and a package of 16 felt markers.
[00211 As yet another alternative, the designs can be provided as stick-on or
glue-on
designs, either as complete images to cover the full surface of the bag, or as
a collection
of smaller designs that can be distributed as desired over the surfaces of the
bag. In this
embodiment, it can be preferable to produce the stick-on design in a fashion
that permits
them to be colored prior to being applied to the bag. An alternative to
stickers is stamps,
either self-inking or provided with one or more color inking pads.
[00221 This concludes the description of a presently preferred embodiment of
the
invention. The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of
illustration
and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise
form
disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the
above teaching
and will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended the scope of
the invention be
limited not by this description but by the claims that follow.
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