This issue is dedicated to Karen, a stay-at-home mom of five who recently lost her husband.

She wrote in part, “I made a bracelet at a group I go to, just as a craft project, but I really enjoyed doing it … My two youngest children are 18 months and 4 months old. This is something that I could possibly start to do just to earn a little extra money. If you could give me some ideas to get started I would really appreciate it.”

Read Karen’s full letter and our response by clicking here.

Normally, I warn readers to stay away from kits and courses that promise to make you rich working from home.

Our friend, well-known craft-author Barbara Brabec offers similar advice. Read her article on how to recognize these work-at-home scams.

However, as they say, “For every rule, there is an exception”. I believe we have found the exception in Preston Reuther, who offers courses and supplies for unique gold and silver wire-sculpted jewelry.

Preston is different from the get-rich-quick scam artists. He doesn’t send you tacky little kits and promise to buy your finished products. He offers you high-quality tools, materials and video courses to teach you how to design and make jewelry which you then sell. But he helps you with that too.

If you are interested in jewelry making and really need to turn a profit as quickly as possible, read the next article about master wire sculptor, Preston Reuther.

Eileen

I’m always skeptical when I read things like, "Jewelry Making Techniques that can make you $1000 a week!", but three things convinced me that Preston Reuther is for-real.

1. His success with his art (rather than just selling his courses: Preston has two beautiful websites where he actually sells his own jewelry: Master Wire Sculptor and Wire Name Jewelry.

He does national workshops and has a physical gallery and teaching facility in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

2. Testimonials from customers who bought his courses: Several readers of The Artful Crafter have purchased Preston’s courses after reading about them on our site.

There are over twenty pages of testimonials on Preston’s Wire Scupture site.

3. His own success story: Preston has actually gone “from rags to riches” with his work-from-home business. His story is inspiring.

After many failed business attempts and several bankruptcies, Preston was in therapy for deep depression. As part of his therapy, he took a course in wire-sculpting. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Preston is so grateful for his recovery and success that he says, “When God gives you such a gift, you’ve got to pass it on. This is not rocket science. If you can bend a paper clip, you can make wire jewelry.”

Preston had other challenges to overcome too. He says he’s the only “jeweler without a ruler” because he has trouble with numbers and a terrible short term memory. He visually estimates the length of wire he will need for each piece and somehow it all works out in the end.

Preston’s start-your-own-business kits include everything you need to get going – from instructional DVDs to the wire-sculpting tools, the gold-plated and silver wire, the gems and settings and an assortment of e-books with extra patterns and selling tips.

Oh, I should mention, no soldering is required with Preston’s method of wire-sculpting.

You should at least sign up for Preston’s free newsletter, even if you’re not interested in his products – it will help you a lot with both design and business ideas.

This is high end jewelry. While the materials are more expensive, the markups are much higher than on regular beaded jewelry.

If you are interested in starting a jewelry making business, check out Wire Sculpture.

Organize Your Crafting Space

Whether you are crafting for profit or just for fun, the better organized your crafting space is, the more efficient and productive you can be.

Safety is also an issue, since some of our typical crafting tools and materials can be dangerous when not used or stored properly.

If you need some help optimizing your crafting space, read our tips and suggestions by clicking here and here.