What Do You Make and Sell?

[Mackay]

Sister and I dried bridal bouquets and other event flowers like funeral, birthday, anniversary. They were mounted and framed keepsakes which we enhanced with watercolor and acrylic paints so the aging flowers kept some original color.
The amount of orders were beyond our capacity to keep up. When we raised the prices to make it worth the extensive time it took to do them properly, business fell off.
They were bringing in between $100 and $350 each, depending on size and type of flowers. Very time and space consuming. Have different degrees of drying requirements, too.

She is still doing occasional pieces for extra money.

I've been kinda thinking about this. I have about 200 dried roses from a nursing home I worked in. We wernt allowed to keep flowers around if the heads started to lean over so I started taking them home and hanging them upside down. Now they are all packed away in a box waiting for a creative idea....the stems are all clipped to about 2 to 3 inches... I am thinking wreaths...any ideas for me?

I keep thinking that I might explore collecting local plants and drying them flat in a frame, under glass for wall hangings. Don't know much about how to do it but I've not checked the library yet.
No hurry, everything is dead around here right now anyway.

I think preserving the bridal bouquets is a great idea.. why was it so costly?

 

[Mackay]

I have tried twice to start food based businesses. About five years ago, I made chocolate based mixes and sold them individually or in baskets for Christmas gifts. Stuff like Mexican hot chocolate, both regular and with hot chile powder,

. If the food prep restrictions weren't so severe, I would be selling my jams and jellies....because some of them are downright wierd!

Edited because sentences need to make sense.

Gee we don't have that problem with jams and jellies aound here. It is permitted if lots of sugar is in it... but meat and veggie stuff has to have a professional kitchen, what ever that is.

I've been thinking about the hot chocolate mixes also. We go to mexico almost every year and I can bring back chocolate nibs from Oaxaca...I have some already but have not done anything with them...Figured if I ground them up I could make packets of instant hot chocolate, and like you put the chile in... its soooo good!

Sorry you can't get around so well to do all your cooking. Surely you could still make the chocolate stuff?

 

[sylvie]

Sister and I dried bridal bouquets and other event flowers like funeral, birthday, anniversary. They were mounted and framed keepsakes which we enhanced with watercolor and acrylic paints so the aging flowers kept some original color.

I've been kinda thinking about this. I have about 200 dried roses from a nursing home I worked in. We wernt allowed to keep flowers around if the heads started to lean over so I started taking them home and hanging them upside down. Now they are all packed away in a box waiting for a creative idea....the stems are all clipped to about 2 to 3 inches... I am thinking wreaths...any ideas for me?

I keep thinking that I might explore collecting local plants and drying them flat in a frame, under glass for wall hangings. Don't know much about how to do it but I've not checked the library yet.
No hurry, everything is dead around here right now anyway.

I think preserving the bridal bouquets is a great idea.. why was it so costly?

It involved completely disassembling each bouquet, drying like flowers together, reassembling in original bouquet shape but flat.

We used the microwave method with layers of blotter paper.
As I stated, we enhanced the color by handpainting parts of each petal. it was nearly imperceptible because the paint was kept fine.

We never accepted dried bouquets, we received the fresh flowers immediately after the wedding or no later than the next morning.
I don't have experience to comment on already dried flowers.
The wreath sounds like a pretty idea.

 

[hwillm1977]

Those are beautiful! I love the pose you chose for the horse!
I bet you do sell them!

Is it in pencil?

Thanks for the compliments guys

The dog has some charcoal in it too, but mostly graphite pencils. I love how simple black and white pictures can look, so I prefer just drawing in pencils.

Right now I'm trying to put together a website so I can really start drawing portraits instead of just word of mouth locally

 

[kcsunshine]

I sell artwork... mostly portraits of animals, because I like drawing them better than people. (It's really hard to get a person to look just like the actual person, people seem less picky about animals)

My father told me when I was three that if I could draw him a perfect horse, he would get me my first pony... then the mortgage rates of the early 80s hit us, we lost our farm and rented an apartment in the city. I kept drawing a few hours a day, and bought my own horse when I was 27 years old and at least I have a somewhat marketable skill now... lol

Here's a few

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/hwillm1977/drawings/GoodHorseforElizWeb.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b83/hwillm1977/drawings/SicilyWeb.jpg

WOW! Really nice.

 

[mistyfeather365]

when i need to make extra cash i make : candles, soaps, lotions, shampoos, rose water based body sprays, scrubs, sented body oils/bath and massage oils, home aromatherapy sprays, jewlery, moccasins (special order only tho) homemade incense and aromatherapy oil mixes.

 

[sylvie]

moccasins (special order only tho)

Do you have pics of the moccasins?

 

[Wifezilla]

I think I am going to try mason bee houses this year

I have sold quite a few orders of hatching eggs. I had one order that was supposed to go out today, but my son grabbed a couple of the eggs for breakfast!

 

[mistyfeather365]

moccasins (special order only tho)

Do you have pics of the moccasins?

i never take picks i always forget! i also do art work (ocationaly)and have no pics either one of these days i may get smart and take some picks

 

[mistyfeather365]

i have a half finished pair of baby moccs some where in my storage room i need to finish for my son, if i find them i will post a pic my first 2 kids wore them and then i gave them to friends to use for their babies