How to Make a Profit Out of a Shoebox

.A Story Dedicated to Crafters Everywhere

I am always on the hunt for a deal at my local thrift store. A few months ago, I found a bunch of mugs for 25¢ each. Great deal! I said. And I walked on past because, well, I couldn’t think of anything to make. But it was brewing on the backburner. What would I do if I bought a bunch? The next week, the deal was still there. 

So, I took home $6.25 worth of mugs. How many? Too many, but, 25 to be specific. 

“What are you using them for?” asked a friend, as I walked out. “I don’t know yet.” Said I, “but I am going to make something!” You can’t pass up a deal like that when you craft. 

I came back a few days later to volunteer and I was asked by someone what all this stuff in a tub was. I wasn’t sure at first, but then I saw the candle wicks and smelled the fragrances. Well, it was probably a hundred (at current rate which is inflated, I know, but still), dollars worth of candle-making stuff. Granted, if you bought it in bulk you could probably buy most of it for sixty dollars. But, wow, that much stuff! 

I took it home for twenty that day. I suggested it was worth more, but twenty was awfully fair and later, I made a bunch of candles with it. 

I used my mugs and some other ones to make candles. 

What happened next? They came out like beginner's candles. The wicks were all sideways and some of the candles had “surprise layers of colors” because I ran out of a color and then decided to mix a different concentration when I made the next layer. 

I spilled wax on the floor. Don’t worry, when it cooled, I used my hamburger flipper to scrape up the wax. My kitchen is back to normal now…  I learned that when you make candles, a drop cloth on the floor and counters is not a bad idea. 

If you are making candles with a crock pot, I have two suggestions: use a crock pot liner and not a turkey pan liner. The reason that I made a mess with the wax? I ran out of crock pot liners for my crock pot and the turkey pan liner was too big-the reason I spilled wax the first few times, and the reason is that the turkey pan liner was too big. A crock pot liner was perfect, though, and so the next time I saw them at the store for $3.00 a bag, I bought two boxes. Now I have twelve bags for fifty cents apiece. 

So, how do you make money for someone else then? Well, most of the candles were just terrible. Total beginners candles. So I donated them to a local camp. The camp had a fun auction for their counselors in training and I heard from a friend that he bought his for $15 at the auction. Wow! I thought, if I had sold two or three candles at that price, I would have made a profit! And then I was proud because even though I gave away about 15 candles, I saved the best three and I could make more because I still had more supplies and could now do a better job in the future! 

How to make a profit for someone else out of a shoebox? Be generous with your practice items, they may surprise you and be worth more than you think! And don’t be afraid to check your local next-to-new store when you need something that is too expensive online or at your local craft store at full price!