1. Stacy, 2. Karla and Amber, 3. Kelly, 4. Lisa, 5. Korrine, 6. Christy
I am a stay at home/work at home mom and I have been trying to figure out how to contribute to our family budget without pursuing outside employment. I do generate some income with my etsy shop, but I would like to grow my business a bit more.
(Shameless plug: Mokume Gane focal pendant available here)
I was really excited when I found this article: 10 Ways to Diversify Your Income as a Crafter or Artist There are some really interesting ideas (that had never occurred to me), what’s even better is that there are a wealth of other related articles to help expand some of these ideas. I am really excited to explore some of these suggestions further.
What is your favorite tip or sites for business advice? Leave a comment and let us know, and don’t forget our LNK Handmade craft show is coming up September 26th. Craft.Shop.Local for all of you in the Lincoln, Nebraska area, come by and say Hi!
I wrote this article several months ago and it was originally published over at Type-A Mom.
A young U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan wrote a letter to his mom asking for 16 pairs of handknit gloves for his unit just like the ones his grandmother used to make. The mother wasn't able to fulfill that commitment herself so she contacted Halcyon Yarn in Bath, ME.
The yarn shop responded by mentioning the project in a newsletter and providing knitters with two vintage patterns. The Glommit is a combination glove/mitten. The mitten cap can be folded back to allow use of bare fingers. This type of handknit is useful for many different types of people, not just soldiers. The Gauntlet was designed in the style of an old hunter's mitten. The pattern was written to have the thumb covered, the index finger bare, and the remaining fingers under a mitten. This allows for quick access for shooting.
The gloves are knit with wool. Wool is the best natural fiber to use for outerwear such as gloves or mittens. The fiber is naturally waterproof and keeps hands warm. Having grown up in Maine, this soldier knew how to endure the cold, but not even he could take the harsh weather in the high altitude of Afghanistan.
In less than a year, over 125 pair have been donated to the cause. If you would like to participate in this unique service project, Halcyon Yarn will accept finished Glommmits and Gauntlets and ship them to where they need to go. You can find the Glommit pattern and the Gauntlet pattern at those links.
You never know when you'll be able to use your hobby to make a difference in the lives of others. This is one instance where some wool and a few hours of your time can help keep a soldier warm.
I have always enjoyed going to craft stores, their neat isles of supplies all new and shiny. Miles and miles of paints, papers, fabrics, beads, and every other craft supply know to man, and the 40% off coupons every week, who could resist? The real problem with craft stores is this, anyone and everyone is buying the exact same thing that you are and your hand made item may not be so one of a kind.
I love finding new and unexpected supplies. Some of the best places I have found are thrift stores, auctions and yard sales. And for the brave there is also dumpster diving and taking things off the curb.
Thrift stores have a variety of items from clothing to household to furniture. It’s worth the time to find out when sales days are and to visit a store a couple of times to get a good feel for the types of merchandise that each store carries. I have one store that has the best clothes and I always try to go there for their $.99 clothing sales, but the house wares and furniture are a bit pricey for my taste. Here’s a stunning cut paper picture I purchased for $3.99 at my local good will, bonus it’s already matted and framed!
Auctions can be a lot of fun, especially since they usually publish a listing of what will be for sale and allow you to preview the items before hand. You can even leave bids with the auctioneer if you are unable to stay for the entire auction. Be prepare to pay cash and to bid on an entire box of junk for just for one item. A thing to remember is at the end of an auction there are usually a lot of items left behind, just ask, often anything left behind is free for the taking. This is an overnight case I got for $7.00 at an auction, it’s in excellent condition just waiting to be painted or decoupaged. 
Yard sales can be a great source of supplies, you name it and I’ve seen it at a yard sale! Check you local paper, craigslist, or look for signs. There are two ways to shop, go early so all the “good” stuff is still there or go late and bargain for better prices, the later it gets the easier it is to haggle, nobody wants to haul all of that stuff back into their house! Here’s some coveralls, a winter coat, a stack of children’s books, two pillowcases, and some bird wall decorations I bought for $3.75.
The thing to remember is that you can always alter the item, furniture can be painted, clothes can be reconstructed, etc. and when you don’t have a lot of money invested your free to try new techniques. The down side it that making a duplicate item is almost impossible. Good luck and happy shopping. Where is you favorite alternative place to get crafting supplies?
Spoonflower is a relatively new site dedicated to printing your own fabric. It is free to sign up and you can purchase fabric designed by others. But, the real draw is the ability to upload your own designs and see them come to life on high quality cotton fabric. At $18 a yard, it is pricier than your average fabric store. You can also get a swatch for $5 or a fat quarter for $11. Even though it is quite a bit more in price, the chance to have your own design on fabric could be worth the extra. If you've ever searched high and low for the perfect piece of fabric to complete a project, you know the value of just being able to make it yourself!
Spoonflower has a blog where they show some of the fabrics made by their users and each week they have a contest for the fabric of the week. That fabric is then available for sale in the Spoonflower etsy shop for a week and the winner receives 5 yards of fabric for free. I can't wait to try it out myself!
CraftSassy offers a similar service but for scrapbook paper. I actually got to try out the process and use some of the scrapbook paper. Basically, you upload an image and you can have it printed on high quality scrapbook paper in a variety of sizes. I used two different images and made some 12X12 pages and 6X6 pages.
The most difficult part of the process was deciding on an image to use! This paper is also a little pricier than your average scrapbook paper. But, you are paying for the service and the ability to make it exactly how you want it. Looking at it that way, it seems like a bargain at $2 a sheet (price varies for sizes). One thing that appealed to me about this company is that they allow wholesale orders. How fun would it be to design your own line of scrapbook paper and have them available to the public?
Do you have it in you to become the next Amy Butler or Basic Grey? With all of these new opportunities online, it has become even easier to share your designs and creations with the world. If you decide to design your own fabric or paper, I hope you'll share what you made with us here in the comments. We'd love to see them!
image courtesy of Christy Nelson via flickr
