It’s a snow day and I haven’t done a wacky Wednesday in a long time.

So what if you enjoy doing crafts, you are good at a few, but a master of none.  Still you dream of making your living from a craft.  What sells?  If you are looking for inspiration an hour or two exploring crafts on Google will stretch your ideas of what can be done with metals, paper, clay, wood, organics, fabrics, organics, glass, etc .

Pinterest provides plenty of ideas.  http://www.pinterest.com/paceamos/craft-items-to-make-to-sell/   Consider scrabble tile coasters, bottle top candles, quilted potholders, and all kinds of hair accessories.

Do you want to try some new crafts?  Mother Earth News has directions and links for:

Make homemade paper. Before you toss your used paper into the recycling bin, consider using it to craft your own homemade paper from the recycled pulp.  You can also learn how to  create your own stationary.

Make-An-Envelope

Old maps, homemade paper, old calendars or other papers to craft beautiful handmade envelopes.

You can make pillow covers and rugs by upcycling old clothing.  Turn shirts into pillow covers and rags into rugs. Most of us have materials at home we don’t know what to do with, and both of these projects will allow you to hang on to those materials while still putting them to use.

Candles From Recycled Wax

Create candles out of beeswax, or make recycled candles out of the remains of candles lying around your house.

Turn a tree branch into a sturdy, rustic coat rack. Your new rack will exude both elegance and earthiness — and part of the fun will be hunting for that perfect branch!

Urban Woodswalker

Looking for some very basic information on how to turn a hobby into money, there is  http://www.workathomebulletin.com/sell-crafts-turn-your-hobby-into-money/

Now If you already work with several different types of crafts and are trying to determine which types of crafts are the best selling crafts and, therefore, the smartest medium to focus on for your business, consider these statistics from the CODA Survey.

(note: although the CODA Survey is dated, the craft industry is so rarely studied there isn’t a lot of data out there, so it is still one of the better sources of data on craft industry sales)

Comparing the gross sales and net income figures is important because, not only do you want to sell your crafts, you want to sell them at a good profit. So, the gross sales will give you a good idea of what are the best selling crafts, but the net income completes the story, showing you which professional craft artists are taking home the most money at the end of the day.

Baby Clothing from Etsy

Professional craft artists sell online, at craft fairs, and may develop a line that is sold in stores.  So what sells?  Two of the top sellers on Etsy make items for babies.  Sensible!  Parents and others spend money on babies .   http://careers.top5.com/top-5-items-to-sell-on-etsy/?page=2&isp1=1

Tape Measure Watch

Is Country Living more the style of your craft?  Go idea shopping at Etsy:  pottery, reclaimed wood, dish towels  cutting boards,  tape measure watches  paper art,  silver jewelry shaped like your state  http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/etsy-sellers-we-love#slide-18

And then, there are the Etsy items that stretched my creative imagination!

Sperm Wallpaper and Accessories

Sperm Wallpaper and bedding  accessories — Appropriate for your guest bedroom?  A wedding gift for a wedding where you only know the groom?

“Poop Huts”

“Poop Huts”— Brown clay — Look like they would be fairly easy to make.  Hey!  gift catalogs have little huts for sale for elves and gnomes at fairly hefty prices.  These look more organic.

Decomposing Kittie

Talking about organic, here is Decomposing Kitty!  A memorial to your beloved cat?  maybe!   A gift for a 4-year-old who asks too many questions about what happens after an animal dies!  Did they look at the price?

A Tighty Whitey Bag

A Tighty Whitey Bag —- Even with a zipper, it will not be my bag of choice this summer!

See more at:  http://www.buzzfeed.com/daniheckman/20-of-the-most-wtf-products-for-sale-on-etsy-7w57

Finally from the Huffington Post, pictures of the crafts that have been repinned the most frequently.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/18/popular-pinterest-crafts_n_3292766.html

Natural Room Scents

Canvas Portraits by A Beautiful Mess

Blown-Up Ticket Pillows by Wedding Day Pins

Natural Room Scents by The Yummy Life

Felt iPhone Case by Yellow Bird Yellow Beard

Tin Storage Magnets

DIY Storage Tin Magnets by A Pretty Cool Life

If you live anywhere in the U.S. that has been or is being snowed upon, think about the crafts you might make on a snowy day.  I will blog again about the less creative side of crafts, the business aspect.