Custom pencil portraits? You send the artist a photo, they replicate it in a pencil drawing.
I need to figure out a way to make some fast cash, as I just found out today that more than half of my (not DH's fortunately) monthly income will no longer be coming in as of the end of this week.
With Christmas coming up, and my love of drawing and other crafts, I'm trying to figure out ways to help lessen the burden. I'd go get a PT job, but I'm a little more than six weeks away from giving birth.
Would you pay for something like that? What would you expect to pay for an 8x10 size?
I also sew, crochet and knit. Would you ever consider buying those type of handmade items as holiday gifts or even just for yourself?
What about baked goods or handmade candy?
And one last question, any other ideas to make fast cash for about two months or so?
Thanks ladies!!
ETA: I also decorate cakes, and have a few more orders for between now and the time baby comes, but don't want to take on any orders past the end of this month since I have no idea when baby will actually come!
There is definitely a market for handsewn and knitted items if you are good and make cute stuff. I agree that an Etsy store would make sense.
I am sure there is a market for the portraits as well, but I would think you would have to have some serious talent to make a go of that (not saying you don't--if you are really awesome at pencil drawings, go for it!).
I do think Etsy is somewhat saturated, but I still think it is one of the best ways to get your stuff out there without having to invest a lot of time and money in marketing.
Do you have any local boutiques that would be a good fit for your stuff? If so, you could talk to the owners about selling your work on commission. I have a good friend who started a fairly successful jewelry business that way.
Can you draw pets? I'm thinking the market for that would be higher. Could you even take their pet and turn it the drawing into a custom Christmas card?
One, I bought something like this on the website fivrr -- it was a 4x6 watercolor for $5 where you email a photo and they do a watercolor. You might check that site.
Can you draw pets? I'm thinking the market for that would be higher. Could you even take their pet and turn it the drawing into a custom Christmas card?
I like the idea of pet ones, if you can draw animals too.
I applied to tutor.com a few weeks ago, but have been waitlisted.
As far as animal portraits, I've done a few animals before, but not many. I feel more comfortable doing people right now, but maybe if I practice a few animals first...
Here's my Lucille Ball portrait. Do you think I have enough talent that people would want to buy my portraits?
i dont' see a real money making opportunity for sketches - i have an app on my phone that changes a photo into a sketch - for free, ya know?
but your cake ability could come in handy for sure- i'd email/fb all your friends and let them know you are now accepting customers for cakes, etc- to help your income, etc. I know i'd get a cake from a friend in that case.
Do you have enough craft supplies to build up a stock for the holiday craft fair circuit in your area? I have a few friends who make a fair amount by selling at craft fairs during the holidays.
Post by thatgirl2478 on Oct 9, 2012 16:56:10 GMT -5
How long would it take you to turn around a sketch?
I make custom ornaments of pets (sculpted from Polymer Clay) and my biggest hurdle is that I run out of hours in the day to complete them! If I didn't have my full time job, I could make a lot more money at it. So there definitely is a market for this.
I've seen a few artists who do this at local craft fairs - and they charge A LOT for their work - for a color sketch one artist was charging around $150 for an 8x10. I saw a man who drew houses from pictures and he was charging $325 for a larger sketch.
I was coming in to suggest drawing pets and houses as well. My BFF bought her parents a sketch of their house and I think that artist charged a couple hundred dollars for it. It's really well done though.
What about a temporary babysitting gig for a child who's between sitters or whose parent is out of town or something? Or a garage sale? You definitey have talent, but I worry that the time it would take you to market to clients and then actually produce drawings would not give you a whole lot of money in a short time frame.
What about a temporary babysitting gig for a child who's between sitters or whose parent is out of town or something? Or a garage sale? You definitey have talent, but I worry that the time it would take you to market to clients and then actually produce drawings would not give you a whole lot of money in a short time frame.
ITA - I have been doing the Etsy thing for about 5 years now - so I have a lot of built up clientele (I get a lot of repeat customers) plus I go to greyhound shows throughout the year to promote what I do.
I think I will at least create a listing on Etsy for portraits. Its like a buck to list it still right? It can't hurt to try.
I also have a friend who just asked me this week to crochet a couple of items for her, so I am doing that, and may decide to take pics to make listings for those items as well. I'm currently in the mindset that any little thing will ultimately help. I already have pencils and paper to do the portraits, so I don't need to spend any money on supplies there.
I have a ton of fabric that I inherited from my ailing grandmother. I'm going to work on coming up with some unique sewn products that can help me bust through those four totes of fabric and make me a few bucks. I can sew pretty good, I just haven't since moving. All my sewing stuff is in the basement and I've been too lazy to carry it all up the two flights of stairs to where I want to set up my work area.
I guess its kind of a good thing that Christmas is getting close, as people are starting to shop for gifts, which may work to my advantage some.
And I really would love to sell some baked goods, but my due date is literally four days after Thanksgiving, and with the Doc already talking induction possibly happening the Monday before Thanksgiving, that kind of screws the idea of selling baked goods for Thanksgiving!