If you have been thinking about starting a handmade craft business, it can be overwhelming when deciding what to sell. Maybe you already have a craft business and you’d like to add a little variety, without having to invest a lot of time.

The internet is full of ideas. Pinterest alone can cause creativity overload! I’ve found five easy crafts that require only a few materials and are suitable for any skill level. Most can be made and sold today!

Chalkboard Frames

I’ve seen them all over Pinterest and they’re very popular right now. You can make these chalkboard picture frames from vintage or plain frames, picked up for next to nothing at yard sales or thrift stores. Create a chalkboard on the glass and add color by painting the frame. Cyndy at The Creativity Exchange will show you how simple and useful these chalkboards are. Be sure to check out her video link!

Mod Podge Glass Pendants

Jewelry is always a popular item at craft shows. These pendants are very cool and can be made from anything you have around the house. Crafts Unleashed uses photos and paper embellishments on theirs. I think you could also fussy cut pictures from magazines, craft paper scraps or recycled greeting cards. So many possibilities.

Handmade Soaps

Most soap recipes can be time consuming and use the potentially dangerous chemical, lye. I’ve found an easy method that doesn’t use lye and is called “melt and pour”. With this melt and pour soap making tutorial on Craftbits, you will be selling attractive and deliciously scented soap in only a few days It is so easy you’ll want to make several batches and experiment with a variety of ingredients and recipes.

Superhero Masks

Crafts for children are irresistible. Especially if they help foster their imagination. Red Ted Art shows how to make superhero masks with paper or craft foam and includes templates. I think felt would work really well, too. You could create a matching cape and sell them as a set.

Painted Heart Bags

This last craft is SERIOUSLY so easy and so cute! Vanessa Christensen of V & Co. teaches us how to make a painted heart bag. I can see this bag done with lots of other simple designs and colors. What about a watermelon slice with green and red paint and black seeds for summer? Make one giant star or maybe several smaller ones in both red and blue for Memorial Day or Fourth of July. Can you see where I’m going with this? What about monograms? Somebody stop me!!!

These are only five simple crafts you can whip up and start selling right away. I know there are many others. What ideas can you share? Do you know of any other websites with quick and easy crafts to make and sell?

Just giving you all a quick nudge about this freebie available right now on Kindle.

Even if you’re not a Kindle user, you can download and read the book online or through your smart phone.

A Conversation with Lain Ehmann: Online Business Success Stories (Nicole Dean’s Online Success Cast)

I am so in the mood for summer. When I think of summer I think of bathing suits, flip flops, funky clothes and even funkier accessories. But let’s be honest, that killer Anthropologie jewelry you’ve been loving comes with some crazy high prices. So how about beating the system this summer and making a few of your own bits of bling sans the high price tags?

To that end I want to share with you five different, funky and easy jewelry tutorials I recently came across and immediately fell in love with.

Color Pop Necklace

Ornamentea has been one of my favorite crafting websites for years. It’s a jewelry supply website that also shares really cool jewelry-making tutorials. I can’t wait to try out their Color Pop Necklace tutorial, simply made out of felt balls and ribbon.  I love the combination of ribbon and felt, and the colors really do pop.  It’s so easy to make — I think you could actually throw it together before you head out for the evening.  Heck, I’d probably make one into a bracelet, too! For extra help be sure to watch the Color Pop Necklace video tutorial as well.

Parakeet Mirror Necklace

Now here’s where things get pretty funky.

Mitch L. in L.A. came up with a really ingenious way to create and personalize some bright, fun, summer jewelry — with parakeet mirrors.  Yes, I said parakeet mirrors!  Her clear and easy-to-follow tutorial will help you create a true fashion statement, quickly and inexpensively.  The possibilities are endless with this no muss, no fuss parakeet mirror tutorial to guide you.

Friendship Bracelet

And what would summer be without friendship bracelets?

Erin over at Thanks, I Made It shares with us her take on the Ariel Gordon-style friendship bracelet that’s been in the news lately.  All you need is a small bit of chain, some silk string, a clasp and some jump rings.  Did I say easy peasy? Love the colors, too.

Dangle Shell Bead Earrings

Now I’d be remiss if I didn’t include an earring tutorial, so here’s a great summery one — it’s made out of shell beads!

Amy over at Artsy Mama really hit a home run with these delicate dangle earrings.  They take only minutes to make and they look like a million bucks.  Not bad for some shell beads, ear wires, head pins and jump rings.  I’m not a big blue-lover, but I do have a huge stash of mother-of-pearl coin beads that would be perfect for this!  It’s all spelled out in her quick and easy dangle shell earring tutorial.

Crystal Bracelet

Last but not least I want to share with you a J-Crew-inspired crystal bracelet knock-off from A Splendid Assemblage.  I am all for sparkle.

Let’s face it.  Anytime we can make our own jewelry, versus paying exorbitant retail prices, it’s a win. And compared to J. Crew’s prices, this bracelet is quite inexpensive.  The crystal bracelet tutorial is easy to follow and will have you sparkling things up in no time.

I hope I managed to get your creative juices flowing.  I know mine certainly are!  Which one’s your favorite?  Do you have another great tutorial or jewelry-making website you’d like to share?

The handmade market is booming! The growing interest in handmade crafts has also driven the need for online marketplaces. While Ebay and Etsy are two of the more commonly known DIY markets, there are many more to choose from - all of them offering a variety of custom features.

Artfire

Cool features include the ability to add an Artfire Kiosk to your Facebook page and increased flexibility when designing you Artfire store page.  They have included an Amazon payment option and buyers can add Artfire items to their Amazon Wishlist.

While some sites like Etsy charge per listing, Artfire offers a monthly subscription. This will save you money if your shop has a lot of items for sale.

Folksy

Folksy is a British website.  They currently only allow buyers and sellers located in the UK. They regularly feature designers and will mail a weekly gift guide to buyers.

There are useful business tools unique to Folksy, like Google Analytics integration and exporting data to Excel. This simplifies record keeping.

Sellers may choose between an item listing fee or yearly subscription. Either choice offers the same features.

DaWanda

Features particular to DaWanda are the ability to create categories for your product and to purchase and print vouchers, similar to gift certificates. They also feature special collections by theme.

DaWanda has no listing fee, but instead charges a 5% commission on all items sold. They also charge an extra fee for listing any item in a second category.

Zibbet

Zibbet makes importing from Artfire and Etsy available.  They offer business cards and up to 50 listings free of charge. You can link your worldwide domain name so that when customers click on your website, they will be automatically sent to your Zibbet page.

With a monthly or yearly subscription fee, you can also customize your store page, use their Facebook app, create multiple listings, offer coupons, and receive sale and gift exposure.

Supermarket

Supermarket is quite different than most other handmade marketing websites. They refer to themselves as a “curated collection of awesome design products”.

A designer interested in selling with Supermarket, must send them information describing who they are and what they  make, including photos. Supermarket will use this information to select their designers. Once chosen, designers are charged a commission every thirty days.

Choosing Your Marketing Website

These are only five of many websites to market your crafts. Go to each website and take a look around. Read about their features and fees. Each one offers advantages to help you grow and become a successful DIY business. With the right information, you can choose a website to market your handmade crafts that will best fit your needs and goals.

I am writing this in the middle of May. Believe it or not, there are less than two weeks until Memorial Day – the “official” kick-off to Summer 2013!

Here are some ideas to help you market your biz during the next few months:

Father’s Day – Father’s Day is just around the corner. Do you have any products that are targeted towards men? If not, can you create a limited edition product for Father’s Day? Try putting a masculine touch on your items by changing a color scheme or adding a few “retro” touches to one of your current products. But remember — many of the people who buy Father’s Day gifts are mothers, so you have to reach out to the mom market!

Americana – Have you been to any stores lately? They are already filled with red, white, and blue stuff. Americana-inspired items will remain popular throughout June and early July. Do you have anything that fits that description? Can you add some stars or stripes to something? If not, you can just borrow that lingo for your sale. You can have a “Stars & Stripes” sale without having any products that literally have stars and stripes on them!

Graduations – This is also the time of year when people are celebrating graduations.  Graduates fall into all age categories – from children “graduating” kindergarten or elementary school to teens graduating high school and adults of all ages graduating college. Many types of businesses can benefit from this using this theme. Do you make invitations? Try incorporating all types of graduations into your business. Do you make cool pillows or blankets? Market them as “dorm room staples.” Do you make planners? Market them as the must have accessory for young professionals starting their first post-college job. The ideas are endless!

This is part 1 of a 2 part post —For more marketing ideas, click here to read part 2

Calling all crafters: summer selling season is here!  Yes, it’s that time of year again.  Craft shows have begun popping up all over.  Whether you plan on selling at craft shows this summer or at anytime in the future, keep reading for a list of things to know before you go.

Mes Amis Vintage Antique Show, Roseville CA April 2013

1. Registration Deadlines

All craft shows have a limited number of selling spaces, so you must register in advance for your booth space.  You’ll need to beware, since registration deadlines usually come up way in advance of the actual show dates – sometimes as early as six months in advance.

Most shows have their own web page ripe for the googling, and it’s there you’ll find all their particulars, including registration deadlines.  If you’re having a hard time finding the registration information, check with the town’s Chamber of Commerce website.  Generally, town festival information can be found there.

2. Registration Savvy

Registering for a craft show entails more than just filling out a form.  You’ll need to decide on a few items first such as:

• What size space you’ll need; sizes usually offered are 10′x8′, 10′x10′ or sometimes 12′x12′
• Where you want your space located geographically within the event (indoors or out?)
• What day or days you want to participate — many require that you participate all days, but some events allow you to pick and choose certain days

3. Insurance

Some facilities/locales require that you purchase a certain amount of property and liability insurance before selling at their shows.  Some shows do provide overnight security for your merchandise.  However, it’s just plain smart to cover yourself in case of theft, liability  and/or damage to your goods.

There are commercial companies out there who offer this type of insurance at varying rates depending on what you need.  For example, you might choose to pay a lump-sum yearly fee, versus individual pay-as-you-go event fees.  It’s not uncommon to pay around $100.00 a day, or as much as $300.00 or more for a yearly policy.  If possible, talk to other vendors about how they handle it and be sure to shop around.

4. Bring A Friend

A silly as it sounds, you’ll need to bring a friend.  The friend  doesn’t  have to be an “employee,” however, they do need to be able-bodied and willing to help.  Neither merchandise nor money should ever be left unattended, so having a friend there to step in when you need a break will be helpful.

In addition, the acts of setting up and taking down your booth and all that entails will most likely require another body there to help.  Finally, some vendor contracts actually require that you work with a partner, for just those reasons.

5. What’s A Juried Show?

If a craft show is “juried,” it means that you are not guaranteed a spot at the fair.  To the contrary, a panel of judges will view your work and decide whether or not your craftsmanship has met their standards.  Be ready to submit photos of your merchandise and booth decorating style for consideration prior to the panel’s approval.

6. Fees

You’ll need to factor in those pesky fees.  The main fee will be for the actual space you’ll be taking up.  The bigger the space, the higher the fee.  Indoors will cost more than outdoors, and you’ll usually be asked to pay more for a corner space and/or a space with electricity.  And don’t forget to factor in the cost of gas to and from the show.

7.  Dress Rehearsal

If at all possible you should have a booth ”dress rehearsal” prior to the show.  You can do it in your garage or backyard, whatever works for you.  This way you’ll be able to get an idea of what works and what doesn’t from a set-up standpoint, and you’re sure to have your booth looking great come the big day.

8.  Tents

We’ve all been to craft fairs and seen what sometimes appear to be endless rows of tents.  Tents are important, for many reasons.

• They shelter you and your merchandise from the elements
• They afford you a creative opportunity to “decorate” and put your best “brand face” forward
• They can give the illusion of a brick-and-mortar store, or “boutique” atmosphere

Many different types of tents are available online at competitive prices, so be sure to buy the best quality tent you can afford.  You’ll be glad you did.

9. Credit Card Readers

Not all customers carry cash, so be prepared to accept credit card payment for your merchandise.  One fairly new and innovative way to do this is with a card reader.  Card readers are small, plastic devices that clip onto your smartphone and “read” the credit card, allowing you to process the transaction. Once you hook this free device up to your bank account electronically, all payments go directly into your account minus a small transaction fee.  Easy peasy.

10. Relax And Enjoy

Most crafters report high satisfaction after selling at shows, citing a strong sense of camaraderie and support between sellers.  They also cite a positive sense of satisfaction achieved from meeting and greeting their ”fans” face-to-face.  Try and have fun with it.

Are You Ready?

Be sure to keep these tips in mind before jumping into the crafting season. Start small, get your feet wet, and work your way up from there.  One craft show at a time.