Craft Gossip

Independent craft blog since 2007

The Complete Idiot’s Guide “Selling Your Crafts” Giveaway

by

The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Selling Your Crafts walks readers through the process of preparing goods for sale, pricing and bookkeeping, finding venues, marketing and promoting products, and working with customers both online and off, all without quitting their day job. Clear, concise instructions explain everything readers need to know to sell crafts effectively in their spare time, and help them decide whether to take selling to the next level. This guide shows how to:

•             Find out whether the crafters, and their craft, are ready to start

selling

•             Set prices to cover costs and make a profit

•             Establish a bookkeeping system

•             Manage dual inventories of parts and finished goods

•             Discover the best places to sell crafts in person or on the Internet

•             Identify the right people to market to

•             Accept credit cards and process other forms of payment

•             Start selling wholesale

•             Stay out of tax and legal trouble

About the Author:

Chris Franchetti Michaels (Davis, Calif.) is the author of Teach Yourself Visually Jewelry Making & Beading, Beading Quick Tips, Wire Work Quick Tips, and Teach Yourself Visually Beadwork. She has sold her handmade jewelry as well as commercial beading supplies online for nearly a decade, and she maintains a blog at www.beadjewelry.net. Contact her through this book’s companion site, www.craftychannels.com.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Selling Your Crafts

ISBN: 9781592579914, July 2010, $14.95

Author: Chris Franchetti Michaels (Davis, Calif.)

WIN WIN WIN

We are giving you the chance to win 1 of 3 copies of this book. For your chance to win, please click here.

Competition Open – Worldwide

Competition Closes – August 15th

Comments

  7. I have been trying to market my items. So far I have been ripped off to the point of pulling my hair out. Two stores that I have had items in have taken everything from me…I need help in major way…Thank you for this chance to win and help myself out.

Have you read?

Apple Knitting Patterns for Fall and Back to School

It feels like it’s too early to be thinking about back to school, but as I write this my daughter has just a couple of weeks of summer left! So let’s get in that school and fall knitting spirit by looking at some apple knitting projects. 

If you have a 22 needle circular knitting machine, knitting an apple is one of the easiest things you can do. I have an apple pattern over at Our Daily Craft that will take you just a few minutes to knit and they’re a great addition to your fall decor. 

Apple hats are a classic, and whether you want to knit a hat that looks like an apple or one with apples on it, we’ve got you covered. For hats that look like apples check out the rolled brim version from Emma Crochet Design 4 U, which uses worsted weight yarn and comes in sizes for kids of all ages; and the ribbed brim version from Hand Knit Hugs. This one also calls for worsted weight yarn and comes in four kids sizes. Both include a stem and leaf. 

If you’d rather have apples on your hat, try the Red Apple Hat from Little Red Window. This one is sized from newborn to 2T and calls for four colors of worsted weight yarn. 

How about apple socks? You’ll find Ariel Chang’s Apple Picnic Socks as a free download on Ravelry. These use three colors of sock yarn and come in three sizes. Stone Knits also a pair of stripey apple socks that show the inside of the apple. These also have three sizes but they use six colors total, with the main color being a self-striping yarn. 

If you want a little apple accessory for the house, the apple potholder from Nifty Knitter Designs is cute and a great way to practice double knitting. It uses two colors and you’ll find the colors in the reverse on the other side. The pattern only uses about 50 yards of each color of worsted weight yarn, so it’s a great use for odd balls, too. 

Once you’ve got your double knitting skills sorted you can also try the double knit apple scarf from Crow and Chai Shop. The Winter Apples scarf is shown in red and gold, but you can use whatever colors you like. There are apples, stars and random stitches in the design, which calls for DK weight yarn. There’s also a matching fingerless glove pattern.