One of the ways I used to make money when I was a single parent student was through glass painting. I would buy cheap bottles and vases from charity shops for well under a pound and then paint them and sell them for over £5. Bottles I used to fill with bubble bath, sweets, cotton balls, or alcohol and give them away as presents, or sell them for even more.
A glass painting set costs about £15 on average now, though some are a lot more expensive, but you can buy colours individually to try. The paints do work out a lot more expensive if you do buy them separately. You also get special pens to draw the outline which are usually in black or gold. Besides that, you just need thin brushes. If you are rubbish at art, glass painting is great as you can stick a picture behind the glass and then use the outline pen to trace it.
The picture is of a vase I made in 1996. It was the only one I have left that didn’t sell and so I kept it as a memento to remind myself that I had got through the hard times. It has been sitting in my conservatory and so is faded a bit now. Crafting can be a great way to save money by making presents or selling things as a side hustle. Studies have also shown that crafting reduces stress, improves your fine motor skills, improves mood and self-confidence and reduces the chances of getting dementia. I will warn you though, that buying crafting supplies can become addictive. I haven’t done any glass painting for years and am thinking of starting again. Do any of you glass paint, and if so, what kind of things do you paint?
