Cheap, easy, fun, and challenging. These BB puzzle games are made from 1/4" thick Baltic birch plywood. The top is .093" acrylic. The games are 3.5 inches square. The toughest part is accurately cutting the rings. Just go slow and be as accurate as possible. Sand if necessary.
I bought 350 BB's for under $2.00. I got the acrylic at Home Depot. It's named Optix Plaskolite. I bought the 11" X 14" X .093" for $5.98. I used up my scrap Baltic birch plywood. I always keep the small cut offs just for projects like this.
The total cost of one of these games is around $1 in supplies. You could take these to your craft shows but they have to sell very inexpensively to get buyers. $3 or $4 is about the top price. When you include the time to make your margin is very small. If I batched them out I could probably make 4 or 5 an hour. Even at $15/hour that accounts for $3.75/game. If you are a laser or CNC owner you could batch these out with far less hand labor.
These games are great for sitting on a coffee table to keep the grandchildren busy. Perfect for Christmas stocking stuffers and even fun for yourself. If you do toy charity work make sure you add these to that effort. These are probably best for eight-year-olds and up.
Start Position
How I ship products:
If you sell crafts online, you have to ship them to your customers. This can be expensive unless you do your homework and find the cheapest(best value) shipping supplies. You will be adding the cost to the product but you don't want to burden the customer with excessive shipping.
For postage, I use www.stamps.com. Actually, I use www.endicia.com but they were bought out by stamps.com and are now the same. This is a great print at home postage service. It is highly configurable and easy to use. It depends on the package but I save approximately $.90 to $1.00 per package over buying postage at the post office. I do pay a $19.95 monthly fee on top of the postage price to use the service so you need to ship a few packages to break even with the savings.
I hated going to the post office every day and standing in line. Stamps.com eliminated that hassle. It was worth the $19.95 per month just for the convenience. Again, it depends on your volume of shipping if it is worth the price. Don't forget that you will need a postage scale. They vary in price but you can find decent deals on Amazon. Make sure you buy one that will weigh your largest package.
Stamps.com also provides tracking numbers for the items I ship. I can see instantly which packages are in transit or delivered. It does not work 100% of the time but is still pretty good. It helps my anxiety when I see it has been delivered. It's also nice to be able to give the number to your customer so they can see where it is.
I buy all my shipping supplies on Amazon. I get my labels and packages sent in bulk. I also buy my thumb drives for the catalogs from Amazon. They are way cheaper than I can buy anywhere locally. I can find these supplies cheaper on other websites but Amazon is fast, fast, fast and not much higher in price. I am an Amazon Prime member so shipping is free for one or two days delivery. A prime subscription is not cheap but I place orders a few times a week so for me, it is worth the price. I use it primarily for business but it has several other nice features that I use also. Music, movies and more.
If you are going to be shipping boxes don't forget the price of tape. It will cost you about $2 per roll for the thicker package tape. Don't buy the cheap thin tape. The post office will handle your package rough. I have seen the cheap tape come off more than once so I never use it.
I don't have the need to use UPS or FedEx but for larger packages make sure you check their prices.
Always try to buy in bulk when possible. Those pennies add up. Selling crafts is a low margin game for most crafters. You have to pay attention to the details of the cost. Calculate the actual cost for every package size you ship.
Even if your business is small you should still try to manage shipping costs. You may not be able to use a home postage service but buying shipping supplies at the best value makes a difference.
A little behind:
Actually, I have a large behind but that is another subject. I was able to get all the orders shipped today that did not come in today. I'll get the rest of the orders out later tomorrow.
As usual, I am way behind on email. My wife had a medical procedure today and we were at the hospital for a few hours. She is fine but I did not get much time to go through the email. I'll work on it more tomorrow.
$12 per sheet of 12 coins plus $3.50 shipping
Inlay with a 1" Forstner Bit.
The perfect way to sign your work.
Email Newsletter Readers: Remember that the Newsletter is just a copy of the daily blog post. To see the post in it's proper formatting click this link. If you ever misplace a pattern or any item you see here you can always find it on the blog. Everything stays on the blog forever.
Products for your consideration:
Every Scrollsaw Workshop Pattern from 2007-2018 in DVD
This DVD has over 2,600 patterns published from 2007 thru 2018.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
The DVD is $20 plus shipping. Ships to 60 countries around the world.
If you use the DVD on a Windows PC there is a simple viewer program to browse through the patterns.
The DVD also works fine on a MAC. The viewer program is not MAC compatible but there is an included PDF with all the patterns shown as thumbnails for easy viewing.
All the same file but on an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.
Now Available on USB Thumb Drive
Don't have a DVD drive on your new computer. No problem. Buy the catalog on a USB thumb drive.All the same file but on an easy to use a thumb drive. The USB thumb drive option is $23 plus shipping.
Scroll Saw Pattern Design Tutorial: DVD
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Let me teach you to create a beautiful wooden portrait pattern. I will show you everything you need from start to finish. The video will show you the free software program you can download for Windows or Mac OS. I will show you how to install the program and configure it for best results.
Then I will show you the technique to take your photograph and make a pattern from it. When the pattern is complete we will go in the shop and cut it.
The DVD is $10 plus shipping. This is a data DVD that you will use on your computer to watch the video tutorial
Want to create beautiful wooden vases on the scroll saw?
My two "Wooden Vases on the Scroll Saw" books make it easy.
The books are $12 each and available for instant download after purchase. Click for Video Demonstration.
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