Mandy Buchanan asked:




One of the most difficult aspects in a home-based business that sells crafts is setting the price. Many crafters sell themselves short and do not make the profit that they could make because they are afraid of how much they should be charging people. In this article we give you some practical advice on how you can price your crafts to maximize the profits for your home-based business.

Work Out the Cost of Your Craft Materials Required for your Home-Based Business

Think about what you are selling and what materials are required to make it. Write down each item and how much it costs and how many items it will make. You do not need to add materials that make hundreds of products, but if something will only make a few products then add this to the materials cost. Once you have worked this out you will be able to calculate the cost of materials for one finished product.
How Much Are You Worth per Hour?

Another factor to take into consideration is how much you are worth per hour. Your home-based business is a business and this means that you deserve your pay, don’t cut yourself short and charge less than you are really worth.

Stick to your Prices

Once you have calculated a price based on the cost of materials and the hours it took you to make it stick to this price. You may decide that you are willing to offer discounts at certain times or barter these items but then have a set idea of how much you are willing to offer as a discount, under what circumstances and what the value of the item is when bartering. Don’t lower your prices just because someone didn’t buy it, if they didn’t then someone else will. Keep the standard of your home-based business high.

Setting prices on crafts is often considered a difficult aspect of having a home-based business that sells crafts. In order to set your price however you should look at the cost of the materials and your hourly rate and stick to this. If you are going to offer discounts or bartering then decide on your terms beforehand and do not just back down because someone will not buy it at the price you are requesting.

Gail Leino asked:




There are all kinds of crafts that teenagers can do for Sweet 16. The boys will want to do their own type of jewelry craft since they won’t want to do one like the girls. The boys can make a bracelet for themselves or someone else if they don’t want it themselves. The girls can make a bracelet or necklace that they can wear.

Here are the materials that you will need for this Sweet 16 craft.

Beads and charms for boys and girls
Thick string or something that won’t break easily that the beads can go on
Scissors

Let each teenager be creative. They can choose which beads and charms they want to use for their bracelet or necklace. This is a good way to see what each person likes. They will each be able to make their own Sweet 16 craft to suit their personality.

You want to make sure that they don’t make the necklace or the bracelets to big. This Sweet 16 craft won’t require a lot of adult supervision because teenagers are able to handle this type of craft on their own. You do want to make sure that someone is there to supervise but that is about all that will be needed.

By having them make their own Sweet 16 necklace or bracelet they will be able to wear it and be proud of it because they did it themselves. Even teenagers enjoy doing these types of crafts for themselves or other people in their lives. As long as you let them be creative and make something that fits their personality, this type of craft will be a big hit.

Lisa A Mason asked:




Parents and kids look forward to the summer when school is out and the family gets to spend more time together. However, it is usually only a few days when you start hearing the words “I’m bored”. There is a cure for this problem and it is called craft making. Having some great craft ideas ready in advance will help to make the summer more fun. Plus, you have the opportunity to help your child learn in a creative way.

Here are a few summer craft ideas for kids that will help your summer be more fun and enjoyable.
Plant a flower garden. It doesn’t have to be a very large garden you can simply use a few sunflowers or daisies. Keep it simple and it can be loads of fun. Make homemade bracelets and necklaces. These can be made from braiding embroidery or knitting thread together or you can purchase jewelry kits. Create and design refrigerator magnets. Use your imagination and make faces, animals or other designs then glue them onto the magnets. You can pick up a pack of magnets at most any craft store for a reasonable price. Help your child make a scrapbook. You can take pictures and help them write down what was special about the photo.?

These ideas are simple and easy for your child to do but they are also fun and entertaining. Doing crafts with your children is a great way to spend quality time together and get to know each other better. On top of that, it is a great alternative to hearing how bored they are all summer long.

Paula H Atwell asked:




One of the most fun outdoor arts and craft activities to do with your kids during the summer is the art of tie dying t-shirts, pillowcases, socks, and any other clothing or accessories you have that can use some extra color and excitement.

You do not have to be an expert artist or an artist at all to tie dye t-shirts this summer. It is not an expensive craft to do at home, and when you are done, you will have an art project that you can wear proudly, and will last for a very long time, or at least until your kids outgrow the clothes they are wearing this summer. You can find dye kits in any fabric or craft store, or you can buy them online. However, you can also put a dye kit together yourself from some simple ingredients.

Tie dye is actually a very simple process. Once you have selected the material you want to dye, you should wash it to get out any chemical coatings that may be left on from the manufacturer. You can also tie dye old used clothing to brighten it up. White is the best color to dye on, but you can use any light color. The concept behind tie dying is easy to understand. Using rubber bands or string, you bunch up the material and “tie” it. The areas that are tied will not allow any dye to penetrate, therefore you are left with white areas. This is the essence of tie dye. However, there are many patterns that can be created by using the tie dye method. The most traditional pattern is the circle which is formed by grabbing material in the center of the t-shirt, and tying the string around the pulled material. You can form other patterns by folding material then tying it, pleating the material and tying it, or creating scallop shapes and tying it. The more you tie dye, the better you will get and finding new patterns. But even the very first time, you will get excellent results.

You can use as many colors as you want when you tie dye, but if you try to apply every color in the same spot, you may end up with a mud colored shirt. So it is best if you try to plan which colors you will use before you put them all on your shirt. No matter what colors you choose, they will always look darker when wet, so do not be surprised when your shirt dries lighter in color.

Tie dye is a messy project, best done outdoors over a grassy area that can use the extra moisture. You will need very few items to complete your project–just some water, plastic tubs or bins, gloves to protect your hands, white clothing for dying, and the dye. Most tie dye kits supply everything you need except the water and clothing.

Most people use either a ****** bottle or just dip their clothing to apply the dye, however if you want more detail then you can use a paint brush to apply the dye. Whatever you do, just follow the instructions on the dye box to affix the dye, and prepare the clothing to wear. After you are finished, you and your kids will have new clothes to wear all summer long.

Naomi West asked:




Now that summer is here children are happily finishing with school and will be out for a couple of months before they have to hit the books once again. This small respite implies that it is up to you to keep them from becoming bored. Why not do this by finding some great crafts for them to do!

There are numerous websites that you will have the ability to visit which will assist to give you some great ideas or will save you money by offering you things you will be able to print out. The problem with most of these is that they do not always supply you with the instructions you need to understand exactly what needs to be done.

One of the greatest web sites to visit is Crafts 4 Kids. They have a wide variety of projects that include a list of what you need, instructions on how all the things have to be done, and a photograph of what it should look like. Unlike the majority of web sites, this will have projects for children of various ages.

Amazing Moms is a great web site for moms who stay at home who want a wide variety of useful ideas on how to keep their children busy and having fun. They have projects that are sorted by age and how simple or hard they may be for each one. They also provide detailed instructions and will instruct your kids with everything from how to construct a bird feeder to painting a good picture.

Kinder Art has one of the largest collections of all of these sites. They instruct kids on how to recycle and how to draw and paint. This site is utilized by many teachers and moms who home school their children as a way to teach them new things by using fun activities. Whether they are making a Velcro picture board or a clay pot they will enjoy putting something together.

Michael Russell asked:




Drying flowers is a way to keep memories of an event or place for a long time. Whether they are flowers from a bridal bouquet, or from your garden, drying flowers is easy to do. When harvesting your flowers for drying, the best time is in the morning before the sun has had a chance to make the flowers warm. Cut a good length of stem with the flowers, as you can always remove whatever you don’t need. The method of drying that you use will depend on the type of flower and craft project you will be doing. Air drying works well with sturdier flowers such as statice, marigolds, strawflowers and decorative seed pods. The sturdier the flower head, the better they air dry. Separate the flowers into groups of 8 or 10 stems. Remove any diseased leaves that you see on the stems. Bundle a group of stems together and use a rubber band at the end of the stems to hold them together. Make sure that the rubber band is very tight. As the flowers dry, the stems will shrink and the rubber band will shrink with them. You also want to make sure the stems are long enough so that the tops of the flowers aren’t smashed together when the stems are rubber banded. Now you just need to hang the flowers upside down. You can use paper clips, string, wire hangers (unraveled) or florist wire. Connect the hanger to the rubber band and hang in a dry place away from direct sunlight. Depending on the flower it will take two weeks or so for them to be completely dry.

You can also use silica gel to dry your flowers. (Silica gel is the stuff that you find in your shoe box in little packets). It removes moisture from flowers without crushing them. This works great for very delicate flowers such as hydrangea, roses, carnations and asters. You can purchase silica gel at any craft store. All you need is an airtight box (preferably plastic) and silica gel. Lay a bed of gel in the bottom of the container. Place your flowers on top of this bed and gently sprinkle the silica gel on the flowers until they are covered. Using a spoon works best for this to get the gel into the crevasses without crushing the blooms. Cover the box and wait 48 hours. That’s it! Silica gel works very fast and the flowers hold their color. The great thing about silica gel is that it can be reused. You just need to place the silica gel onto a baking sheet in your oven at 200 degrees to dry it back out again.

For the most natural appearance of dried flowers, try glycerine. This is really preserving and not drying, but the results are wonderful. The foliage on the stems will stay a bright green and the flowers will be a bit sturdier. Prepare the stems by removing any bottom leaves. You may want to thread a piece of florist wire into the flower head to keep it from drooping, or tie the stem to some type of support, like a skewer. Mix together one part of liquid glycerine to 1 part of warm water for fresh flowers and one part glycerine to two parts of water for woody stems. Submerge the stem end only into this mixture. This process can take 2 to three weeks, replace any absorbed solution. Once preserved, remove and rinse the stems, then wipe off any mixture that might have seeped out of leaves.

There you go – three different ways to dry your flowers. Try all three methods and mix the resulting flowers into your craft projects for a multi depth arrangement!

Lata Tokhi asked:




Are you looking for ways to keep your kids busy during their summer holidays? Keep them creatively entertained for hours with these easy, yet engaging craft activities:

1. Painting Rocks: Your kids will love staying outdoors in your garden or backyard busy painting rocks of garden stones. Supply them with acrylic paints and brushes and let them use their own creative ideas. They could either paint little objects and scenes on larger rocks or paint smaller stones in single or multi colors.

2. Photo Frames: Photo frames can be made and/or decorated in many different ways. Ask kids to choose their favorite summer photos to be framed and supply them with plain plastic or wooden frames. Now ask them to embellish each frame with a theme that matches the photograph. A picture taken on the beach can be displayed in a frame embellished with sand and seashells. A birthday photo can have a frame embellished with birthday clipart, cutouts or stickers.

3. Wrapping Paper: Let your kids make different types of wrapping for use throughout the year to wrap presents for their friends’ and teachers’ birthdays. Give them paint and different household supplies that create various patterns on paper. For e.g. sponge, cut vegetables, carved buttons, jar lids etc. They can also make and store some for Christmas.

4. Bead Crafts: Assorted beads in different colors, shapes and sizes make for interesting craft supplies. Kids can create themed jewelry, bead art, pins and little decorations by stringing beads on to wire and then bending wire to create shapes.

5. Playdough: Homemade playdough is one of the oldest and still the most effective of keeping kids busy. Give the kids a ’summer project’ to complete before the day ends in which they can make a summer scene or a number of summer themed objects.

Giving these crafts a ’summer’ theme will not only give the projects an interesting twist, but it will also make your kids enjoy the season and wait for it to arrive soon next year!

Jennie Gandhi asked:




The word origami is derived from the Japanese words ‘oru’ meaning ‘to fold’ and ‘kami’ meaning ‘paper’. Thus, this is the art of paper folding. It is an interesting craft that people of all ages enjoys. However, kids enjoy it most, converting a plain sheet of paper into a variety of objects.

There are numerous origami project ideas ranging from easy origami and crafts for children, to the advance level of paper crafting. Young children are introduced to this craft in order to help develop their fingers, as well as their coordination. Making them make paper objects also helps them to concentrate better and follow instructions with more focus.

Given here are two basic origami objects that can be created at the beginner levels. There are varied books published that teach this craft. There are also experts, who conduct origami classes…

Origami airplane:

Take a rectangular sheet of paper.
Fold the sheet down the middle, then unfold it, making a crease.
Then fold each corner towards the center crease line forming triangles on the top two corners.
Now fold along the crease line, thereby forming the body of the airplane.
Now fold each side to form the wings of the airplane.
Fold the corners of the wings forming a triangle on either side.
The airplane is ready to fly…

Origami floating boat

Take a rectangular sheet of paper.
Fold the sheet into two equal halves.
Fold it once again as though folding a handkerchief.
Open the second fold, forming a crease down the center.
Now create two triangles on the same side in such a way that one side of each triangle touches the center crease.
It now looks like a house.
Fold the lower rectangular edges of the paper outwards.
Now with your fingers open this into a hat, carefully so that you do not tear it.
Then bring the corners of the brim of the hat towards each other.
The edges have to be pushed outwards.
The hat is to be squashed into the shape of a square.
Fold the lower corner of the square upwards, flipping it over. Repeat the same for the other corner.
Now open up the folded triangle so as to bring the corners together.
Squash this triangle forming a square.
Pull the outer corners of the square till the boat is formed.

Gail Leino asked:




A Kentucky Derby party is great fun, but I do declare, standing out in the heat of summer to watch those races just gets one all over heated! That’s why, you’ll absolutely have to get the guests at your Kentucky Derby party to create these fun Wallpaper Fans. A gal has got to stay cool!

Wallpaper Fans

This is a very simple, yet elegant Kentucky Derby craft item that only needs the following; wallpaper scraps, pre-gathered lace trim or ribbon, silk flowers, clothespin, craft glue.

Begin your Kentucky Derby Fan by folding the fan accordion-style with a ? “” pleat. Measure and mark half inch lines on the back to use a folding guide before you start folding.

Next, pinch the fan together at the bottom edge. Gently open the top of the fan to form a half circle shape. Use the clothes pin to keep the bottom edge pinch together while you work the glue gun.

On the back of your Kentucky Derby fan, carefully place the tip of the craft glue between each fold and apply a small dab of glue to secure in place. Let the glue dry thoroughly.

Once the glue has dried, you should be able to remove the cloths pin to find that the fan stays in place. This is the fun part of the craft project. Your Kentucky Derby guests can use the craft glue to attach a cluster of silk flowers to their fans or a lace embellishment running along the tops or bottom sides. The pinched end of the fan makes a great handle to hold the elaborate fans once the guests have completed them.

These are great craft items for your Kentucky Derby party. Just make sure you have large enough scraps of wallpaper for a decent sized fan, about 10 wide by 20 inches long or so.

Gail Leino asked:




There are plenty of crafts for adults that can be fun and easy to do. There are also many occasions that you can do this for, including wedding showers and birthday parties. One of the biggest events to make adult crafts for is a bachelorette party. This is seen as a fun event that everyone can enjoy. Many people remember their bachelorette party for years because it was so fun. This is largely because of the crafts involved in the party.

A great craft for all of the girls to do together is to have a wedding dress competition. Instead of the regular fabric that normally comprises a wedding dress; you can accomplish this with toilet paper instead. This way it can lend to the adult party atmosphere. Separate the girls into groups and have each group construct a dress out of toilet paper around one of the group members. Once finished, have a fashion show and vote on the winner. You could have a prize for the winning dress, too!

Another craft that adults can do for a bachelorette party is to highlight that the bride will soon be wed. If you are planning on going out for the night, a shirt that mentions to all that she sees that she is about to go off the market for good is a funny way to spend the night. All you need is a plain shirt and some permanent markers. Go wild with the creativity and have a ball with these crafts.