Easy Crafts to Make and Sell: A Guide to Profitable DIY Projects

Let’s get ready to craft!

You can pull in a healthy side income selling your homemade crafts — say, in a farmers market or on a store online (eCommerce) — and if you market yourself smartly and build an audience, you can even generate enough money to dedicate yourself full-time to growing your arts & crafts business 🤩

Besides that, there’s also the awesome feeling of fulfillment in knowing you made something people love and want to own.

Before you make a dime, you have to choose your crafts. Besides how profitable they can be, you should also consider how easy they are to make. The simpler it is to churn out profitable crafts, the higher the volume you can produce, allowing you to meet customer demand.

So, where do you even start with your crafting ideas? I’ve compiled the ultimate list of easy crafts you can make and sell to your audience, taking your financial goals to new heights.

Key takeaways from this blog post:

Crafting can be a lucrative side hustle or main income source.
Personalized items and eco-friendly crafts are in high demand.
Social media and online marketplaces are essential for reaching a broad audience.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Home Décor Crafts

Dyed textiles DIY crafting project — *Image courtesy of Good Maker Tales*

Everyone wants a beautiful home, which often means scouring home décor stores and websites high and low to find just the right piece.

One benefit of selecting handmade home décor crafts is that they’re more unique and don’t cost tens of thousands of dollars (well, unless you sell something highly valuable).

Here are some home décor crafts to add to your projects list to drive a profit.

Custom canvas wall art

Anyone can find a painting of flowers or animals; these are usually available at any art supply store, and they’re endlessly around online. However, custom canvas wall art has a more personal stamp, making it more covetable and personalized.

Create unique artwork using mixed media materials. Since you’re customizing the wall art, you’d likely offer commissions on your eCommerce store.

Ensure you give yourself plenty of time to complete the project without rushing. Offer updates along the way to keep the customer in the loop.

Mirror boxes

Upcycle mirrors into decorative and functional plant holders. Mirror boxes make an appealing decoration in a bedroom, living room, or sitting room. Their reflective surfaces brighten any space and grab attention. Best of all, mirror boxes are easy to build.

Decorative placemats and menu boards

The right placements make a decorative impact when serving a high-end meal. Making fancy placemats people pull out when having important guests over will fulfill a customer’s need, so you should earn a healthy income from this product.

Decorative menu boards are another DIY craft in this vein. They elevate the appearance of a dining room or kitchen. Consider offering customization services.

Disco ball art

Disco is back, baby! Okay, maybe not exactly, but disco ball art is certainly trendy. These shimmering balls can be repurposed in many ways, whether as wall art installations, vases, or mirror frames. The only limit here is your imagination.

Dyed textiles

If you have access to head-turning and high-quality dyes, consider adding dyed textiles to your list of services. You can customize your DIY offerings, allowing customers to select from several hues (even tie-dye patterns, if interested), or pre-dye the textiles and then sell your pieces online.

Examples of textiles to dye are throw blankets, pillowcases, tablecloths, placemats, table runners, area rugs, and curtains.

Paper flowers

Who wouldn’t love paper flowers? Unlike the real thing, they don’t die. Mastering the art of bending and folding paper is worthwhile, as it can take your profitable craft-selling side hustle to the next level.

Consider making a variety of flowers, from peonies to roses, hyacinths, and lilies. Use high-quality paper and ship the handmade items carefully to avoid getting bent.

Part 2: Beauty and Personal Care Crafts

Today’s conscious consumers care about where their beauty products come from, what’s in them, and what they’ve been tested on. When producing personal care and beauty items to sell on your online craft store, you should consider the average consumer’s ethos.

Another concern is this. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act from the FDA requires that all cosmetics produced on the marketplace, whether mass-manufactured or homemade, cannot be misbranded or adulterated.

If you’re ready to proceed, you can make a killing by producing and selling the following items.

Sugar scrubs

Combine beauty care with the indulgence of homemade sugar scrubs by producing your own. A pink lemonade sugar scrub is tangy, sweet, and revitalizing, sure to put a smile on your customers’ faces every time they apply it to their skin.

DIY bath bombs

Colorful and fragrant bath bombs make bath time anything but boring. You can experiment with fun themes, like galaxy or unicorn, or explore the range of fragrances, from fruity to earthier scents.

DIY bath bombs only need a few ingredients, such as spherical molds, oil (from baby oil to olive, coconut, or jojoba), essential oil, water, cornstarch, Epsom salt, citric acid, and baking soda. Don’t forget about the food coloring to impart a bright hue.

Have fun experimenting with the various essential oil scents. While you can’t go wrong with lemongrass, orange, rose, eucalyptus, or lavender to create a relaxing bathing environment, you can venture outside those scents or try combining your own for something fragrant and unique.

You can even fill bath bombs with a fun treat or surprise, like glitter or a small toy!

Hair styling waxes

Many of the most head-turning hairstyles cannot be achieved without some styling. Producing hair styling waxes will fulfill your audience’s desire to look good all day.

That said, your hair wax must present an alternative to the popular options on the market. For example, yours can be more affordable or use sustainable ingredients.

Facial toners, masks, and cleansers

Clear skin may come from within, but external factors like how well we care for it also matter. Selling facial cleansers, masks, and toners can help your customers show off their best skin.

Be upfront about the ingredients in your face products to build trust with your audience. If your facial products smell nice, that’s a bonus, but they should work effectively. That often means creating different formulas for various skin types, like dry versus oily.

Body, hand, and face balms

Balms make skin feel great and are easier to produce than you’d think. You only need coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax pellets, and an essential oil (or oils). You can make them for the lips, face, hands, and body, making balms an amazing craft idea.

Body butter

Another popular DIY beauty craft to begin selling is body butter. Whipping it to the ideal consistency will take some practice, but body butter is usually just a mix of butter like shea and cocoa with olive and coconut oils.

You’ll also need a double boiler and some freezer space to make body butter. It feels great on the skin, and you can have fun making different varieties.

Soaps

Homemade DIY soap craft to sell — *Image courtesy of Brown Thumb Mama*

While you need the requisite safety equipment, making soap is simple, especially once you learn the correct protocols. Safety goggles and chemical gloves with alkali resistance are a must.

The other golden rule when making soap is mixing the ingredients at the right time. If you do it too soon, the colors can blend, altering the desired result. Yet if you wait too long, soap can harden.

Homemade fragrances

What’s the hottest scent right now? It’s yours, of course. Making DIY colognes and perfumes will help people make an impact wherever they go. They’ll wear a special scent you can’t find on store shelves.

Deodorants

Sure, many people settle for store-bought deodorant, but others seek products that are better for the environment and use more natural ingredients. This is where your crafts store comes in.

Like many DIY beauty crafts, making deodorant at home or in your workshop is very easy. You will need measuring cups, as you must work in half ounces a lot and get the measurements correct.

Cosmetics

The most popular homemade beauty product is makeup, including eyeliner, lipstick or lip color, eye shadow, mascara, and foundation.

You will need equipment like a digital bench scale, protective gloves, funnels, containers, spray bottles, and beakers, but these items come in handy for many homemade beauty items.

Play up your cosmetics’ natural, homemade element to appeal over store-bought items. You could make elderberry lip gloss, cocoa powder brow filler, or powder foundation with arrowroot. Your low- or no-chemical products will matter to audiences!

Part 3: Knitting and Crocheting Crafts

Crochet and knitting DIY crafting to sell — *Image courtesy of Business Insider*

Do you have a knack for crocheting and/or knitting? This is an exceptional way to increase your bank account. Your customers will appreciate your keen eye, your expert use of colors, and your talent for producing beautiful gifts with love.

Knitted headbands

Offer cozy, fashionable accessories for colder seasons, such as headbands. They’re great for protecting the ears and keeping one’s hair out of the face, which is helpful when shoveling mounds of snow.

Scarves

Winter scarves are another handmade item you can crochet or knit easily enough. They are usually one-size-fits-all, which is convenient. In addition to scarves of the winter persuasion, try making fashion scarves so you can sell them across the seasons!

Crochet boot cuffs

Adding personality to a pair of boots is as easy as wearing crocheted boot cuffs. They’re also beneficial for creating additional warmth, making them another optimal winter product to add to your inventory.

Blankets and quilts

Knitted or crocheted quilts or blankets will go over like gangbusters. They make a beautiful decorative impact around the house and will keep your customers nice and warm when snuggling up on the couch or sleeping at night.

The more ornate the quilt or blanket, the more attractive your audience will likely find it. However, you should still knit your creation in your own style, as that’s what draws customers to you.

Winter gloves

A knitted pair of gloves will provide hand warmth in autumn and winter. Consider making gloves in multiple sizes, such as kids’ and adult gloves in small, medium, large, and XL sizes.

Clothing

Although crocheted clothing will require custom orders, you can usually charge more. You can create all sorts of creative clothing, from sweaters to tank tops, skirts, dresses, and shorts. Your customers will greatly appreciate having something so one-of-a-kind to wear.

Tablecloths, placemats, and table runners

Help your audience deck out their kitchen by crocheting or knitting table runners, placemats, and tablecloths. It will lend your customers’ kitchen cohesiveness if everything matches. You could even sell potholders to complete the ensemble.

Part 4: Unique and Trending Crafts

Crafting trends come and go. Here’s a spotlight on all that’s interesting, trending, and engaging in the crafts world.

Needle-felted goods

Dive into the world of needle-felting, a trending craft with a wide range of product possibilities. Although it takes some time to build your needleworking skills, once you develop them, you can have fun poking and stabbing for hours, creating unique, customized décor pieces.

Vintage upcycling

Learn to repurpose vintage finds into fashionable, sellable items. There are so many ways to successfully upcycle, like using rain boots as planters, bicycles as sink stands, or even patch jeans made with various pieces of fabric.

Your customers will love how you’re giving products new life and will proudly display these amazing creations in their homes.

Pottery

Explore the depths of your creativity in making pottery. You’re not limited by shape or size, so create what you think will catch your audience’s eye. You can produce raw pottery, apply a glaze so it’s shiny and more durable, or paint your pottery to make it even more attention-grabbing — making this a profitable and easy craft.

To appeal to the largest audience, you could even do all three!

Macrame

Rather than knitting, you can try knotting via macrame. The woven texture of macrame art is so appealing, especially when you dip-dye the piece in an appealing color.

Best of all, you can make almost anything in macrame, including keychains, jewelry, chandeliers, coasters, wall art, curtains, wall garland, mirror frames, dreamcatchers, placemats, plant hangers, rope lights, hat hangers, hammocks, and purses.

Since it’s such a versatile material, it’d be worth your while to refine your macrame skills.

Squeegee paintings

One of the hottest trends in crafting is squeegee paintings. Take a blank canvas, apply paint in various colors in lines and small blobs, then use a squeegee from top to bottom. The way the paint blends ensures a different design every time.

It’s a super-cool trend that tests the depths of your creativity (in a fun way, don’t worry) and is so simple.

Tips for Novice Crafters

As you can see, there are plenty of DIY crafts you can make and sell. You’ve probably got the creative itch to get started. As you do, consider these tips for beginner crafters eager to expand their audience and bottom line.

Remember why you’re doing it

It’s easy to get swept away by all those dollar signs, but once you’re in it for the extra money, you can lose your spark, your fire. Remember that you began selling crafts because you love making them and greatly enjoy seeing how happy your customers are receiving your unique goods.

Start with simple projects to build your confidence

We all want to jump in on the biggest, most complex project because it looks the coolest. However, an uphill battle learning how to craft will make you want to do it less. More so, you’ll produce more slowly, limiting how much you can sell.

It’s okay, even preferable, to begin with simpler projects that are in your wheelhouse and then expand as you gain more skills and experience.

Take breaks

I know this seems like a rather self-explanatory tip, but you have to remember the virtues of time management. If you work, work, work all day, you’ll make money for now, but your business will fracture sooner than later.

You won’t be able to churn out as many crafts as you once did, and their quality will suffer. Keep your workload realistic and give yourself time between completing projects to relax.

Use social media to showcase your work and engage with potential customers

How do you begin marketing your crafts to let the world know you’re open for business? Social media is an excellent way to get the ball rolling. (Some tips here)

You don’t have to pay for social media (only advertising). I recommend creating a business account on your Instagram or Facebook. You can link to the page from your personal account to get your friends and family to follow.

Ask them to request that others in their networks follow you. This will help you gradually begin a social media following. You should also link to your socials on your eCommerce store (if allowed) so people can find and follow you.

Don’t underestimate the importance of quality photography for your online listings

You’re far from the only crafter out there trying to make a living. Even if you specialize in unique crafts, you will have competition.

Part of what can make you stand out head and shoulders above your competitors is high-quality photography of your products for sale. You don’t need to run out and buy a high-end camera. You can use your smartphone.

Think about the lighting as well. Natural lighting will bring out the colors and details of your creation better than shooting at night or in artificial light.

Invest in a good inventory management system

Inventory management becomes critical as your small business grows. You can explore many software options and tools that suit your budget (you will have to pay for quality software), but some solutions are catered toward small businesses, with pricing that usually matches.

Track your earnings

This is another tip that might seem self-explanatory but is still very important. If you don’t track your savings, it won’t be easy to determine whether your crafts store is growing.

You will also run into a huge headache when tax time comes around, as you must pay taxes on your new business venture if it earns more than $400.

Conclusion

With so many easy crafts to make and sell, you can learn the value of DIY in the online marketplace. Creating personalized gifts with love and care can win you a sizable audience, especially if you focus on eco-friendly goods.

Remember, it’s okay to start small and simple. If your products catch on and you build a following, you must consider hiring additional staff and finding inventory management software.

For now, enjoy the ride and stay true to your heart in what you create!

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How do I price my crafts?

Consider the material costs and time required to make each project, then review market research prices. Increase or decrease your costs compared to the market benchmark, using factors like uniqueness and quality to justify a price bump.

2. Where can I sell my crafts?

You can sell homemade crafts on various platforms, with Etsy being the most popular. You can also try Facebook Marketplace, Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Bonanza, and Artfire. You can attend local crafts shows to sell your wares.

3. How do I promote my craft business?

Besides using social media, you can also explore traditional advertising ventures (PPC, social media ads, etc.), blog content, email marketing, and billboards around your town.

4. When is it time to expand my business?

If your craft business has grown to the point where you can no longer manage it yourself and you have financial overhead, you should hire additional staff to assist. This will prevent you from getting burnt out and ensure your customers receive their handmade items quickly.

5. Are there other DIY craft ideas besides those mentioned in this blog post?

There’s no end to what you can create if you put your mind to the task. Here are some more: friendship bracelets, printables, Christmas trees, seasonal crafts, tote bags, Christmas ornaments, mason jars … the list goes on.