Simple Crafts
Wrap candles to make them fancy . Starting with tall, plain pillar candles, it's easy to end up with beautiful and desirable home decorating items that are likely to sell well. Choose
unscented white candles for the most versatility, or make scent and color substitutions as you see fit depending on the items you intend to wrap the candles with.
- Take a vanilla or unscented pillar candle and some twine or a thin leather thong. Prop sticks of cinnamon up against the candle and tie them to the candle with the twine or thong. The cinnamon will warm up and smell lovely when the candle is lit.
- Take a rectangular strip of sack cloth and a scrap of patterned linen. Cut the scrap down so that it's about as tall as the strip is wide, and then cut a simple shape out of it with fabric scissors. (Fold it in half and cut out half a shape to get a symmetrical piece.) Use a bit of hot glue or another strong adhesive to glue the colorful shape to the sack cloth, and then tie the ensemble around a pillar candle with some twine.
- Take a squat Mason jar with a wide mouth, such as a Ball wide mouth pint canning jar, and glue the bottom of a plain glass-cup candle inside it. Fill the space between the candle and the Mason jar with flattened glass gems (“dragon tears”) in combinations of one or two colors. The colors will light up beautifully when the candle is lit.
Make a recycled fringe scarf. Start with any soft T-shirt. Use fabric scissors to carefully cut the shirt off just below the armpits. Take the tube-like bottom part of the shirt and lay it flat, then use your scissors to cut vertical fringe up from the bottom. Space your cuts an eighth to a quarter of an inch apart, and cut 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm) up. Once the entire bottom of the shirt has been fringed, carefully twist and pull each fringe to stretch and loosen it. The resultant scarf is worn with the fringe pointed down.
- This craft is easy to complete, but it will take a bit of practice to get good enough to sell it. Buy shirts from garage sales and dollar stores to practice on until you feel comfortable selling them.
- Search secondhand shops for cool old designs and patterns to make one-of-a-kind scarves that'll sell like hotcakes.
Slightly More Involved Crafts
Make a bird feeder wreath. This craft requires a bundt pan and several ingredients, but the results are well worth it. You'll press a birdseed mixture into the bundt pan and let it set, then finish it with a festive ribbon for a pretty item that's ideal for birdwatching enthusiasts and family backyards.
- Mix ¼ cup warm water with a packet of plain gelatin, such as Knox, until the gelatin dissolves. At that point, whisk in 3 tablespoons of corn syrup (like Karo) and ¾ cup of flour until you get a thick paste.
- Stir in 4 cups of mixed birdseed and keep stirring until everything is worked in well together.
- Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, and then press the birdseed mixture in evenly around the ring. Let it set for 10 minutes, then shake it out onto a clean surface.
- To make the wreath a little more symmetrical, you can replace it upside-down in the bundt pan and press it gently, which will smooth the back edges somewhat. Be careful not to damage the shape of the front of the wreath.
- Let the wreath sit aside in a dry place for 36-48 hours. You can make more wreaths during this time if you want.
- Once the wreaths are set, cut a long length of thick ribbon and tie it in a loose bow around the wreath to make a hanger.
Selling Tips
Keep track of your expenditures. When determining what to charge, it helps to know what you spent. In addition to material costs, be sure to account for the time you spent making your items, and the cost of setting up displays to sell them. This will help you come to a reasonable minimum price you can set to be sure you don't feel cheated when you sell.
Shop around. If you'd like to get a better idea of what to charge, investigate the competition. Try to get a sense for what the average selling price for similar items is. This will give you a range to work with, one that might very well increase your profit margin considerably.
Offer samples. If you make anything that can be consumed, such as soap, bath salts, wine, or food, offer small samples to customers who pass by. If your wares can speak for themselves, customers are much more likely to come back and buy them later.
Offer set discounts. No matter what you make, follow the rule of three to keep your customers happy: Each item costs a certain amount, but if you buy three items, you get a decent percentage off. Typically, the discount is between 20 and 30%, but you can decide for yourself based on the profit margin you've already set for yourself. You can also offer discounts for specific sets of items, such as “two jars of jam and a box of homemade cookies for $10 instead of $12.”
- People love to buy in gift sets. Have gift packaging ready for all your items, and larger specialty packaging for groups of two to four items.
Market aggressively. These days, with the Internet everywhere, it's easier than ever to learn how to make your own crafts. Stand out from the pack by establishing a presence in the market and making yourself known.
- Make social media accounts for your business, and give it a memorable name. Post regular updates related to the items you sell.
- Speak with local business owners about carrying your products on commission, or helping stage a community event to generate business for all of you. Be proactive and establish yourself as a businessperson to get the support of the business community.
- Provide relevant supplies to community causes. If a local children's organization is planning to make gift baskets, offer to supply some basic homemade soaps; make a weekly donation of home-canned (and properly licensed!) soup or jerky to a soup kitchen or regular church meal. The more you attach your name to positive actions, the more highly people will regard you and your crafts.