Make Money by Making Things

The month of February I'll be offering a money-making tip every weekday. Here's the one for today:

Make money by making things.

Here are some examples of how people have made extra money by making things:

• Selling Pewter Figurines -- Smaller pieces can be bought for about 20 cents each. My wife puts these on rocks, shells (the mermaids) and glass gems with E-6000 glue. We sell them for 2 to 10 dollars at craft shows and flea markets.

• Walking Sticks -- Find a friend who wants his property cleared of the weedy young poplar trees. Bring a saw and knife. I can make about forty walking sticks in a day with the easy woods, like poplar, for example. I've sold them for up to $22 and wholesaled them for as little as $4.

• PVC Bow And Arrows -- I know a man who sells these for $6 at pow-wows and flea markets.

I've been trying to get my wife to mass produce her corn heating bags for sale at flea markets, but so far she is not motivated in the least to do so.

How about any of you? Do you have suggestions for how to make extra money by making things?

Comments

[Chris]

My wife makes clothing and accessories and sells them on Etsy.com. It's like eBay, but for people specifically for people who make things. People there have gone a step beyond making it themselves and started mass producing items and selling them on their own site.

[Slinky]

I sew, quilt, knit, and crochet, but I don't really have the inclination to do it for money. It's really hard to get sufficient money to compensate for the hours spent on a hand made item unless it's something very quick and simple. It then typically turns into mass production of the same old thing, which is enough to make me stick a knitting needle in my eye. :)

While I don't go out to make money with my crafty skills, I do sometimes save myself money by using them for gifts and barter. I also accept the occasional (small) commission from a friend or acquaintance, in which case I have them pay for the cost of materials plus a somewhat equal amount of stuff for myself. (ie, if their project requires two skeins of sock yarn, I get two skeins of sock yarn for myself)

[Miss M @ M is for Money]

I used to make and sell jewelry on the side but it cost me more in time and materials than I took in. It's easy to get out of control buying supplies and unless you have a lot of time and energy to market yourself, you'll never sell much. I started to resent my hobby and wisely stopped. I still have all the materials sitting around and I might finish up some pieces to list on etsy. Once it's gone, I'm done.

[nickel]

That PVC bow and arrow sounds like a fantastic way to get sued.

[thomas]

I wish I had more hobbies, especially ones that can yield a little extra income. I really don't think people need their couch cushion tested while determining the proper angle of their wall mounted LCD.

[Nicki at Domestic Cents]

I bake and sell bread at our Farmers Market. Great little income booster.

[chandra bailey]

I am starting to mass produce my corn heating pads and will be taking them to the flea market starting this week. You have a lot of older folks going to the flea market, so I think the heating pads will sell well, especially in the winter, you could warm them up and demonstrate how toasty they can me.