Asklemmy

The key to success in crafting is to make things people already want, but nobody else is making. Browse through your inner circle or target audience and read comments. A lot of people want to spend money, they just want to buy a product they relate to or something that helps them express who they are.

Just one example of this: plushies. They're not new, they're already everywhere, but niche cartoon character and video game character plushies still sell well because it's a new design being implemented on something people already like. There will always be a new cartoon or game coming out and therefore a way to capitalize on it.

You can also apply this tactic to many kinds of items: clothing, accessories, phone/tablet skins etc.

Not sure if that's the type of creativity you're looking for, but it's quite common to sell stickers on Etsy, Redbubble and similar sites. Some stores are quite successful on it.

I had a similar thought a while back. I got into making pens. There's a bit of a learning curve and some equipment necessary to get started, but once you get the hang of it, you can turn $20 of materials into $100+, and people with money to blow go nuts for them. I sold 3 pens for $300 to one person not so long ago.

Biggest thing you'll need is a lathe. I got a Wen lathe on amazon for like $150. Get some carbide turning tools for like $40 and you're mostly set.

It's pretty hard to make money crafting, but doable, and I think you just need to understand that going in. So I think what's most important is that you enjoy doing that particular craft. The selling is just icing.

Leather working, Jewelry, Tye dye, Hand made rugs...what do YOU like? Experiment, and find out.

It really just comes down to what you enjoy most and that you aren't expecting to make a full time job out it.

Commissions are always good!

Sorry if that was unhelpful

I'll reiterate what other folks have said about it not being a huge moneymaker. I sell my art and basically make enough to cover my art supplies to do the things I love (plus the validation of people wanting my art lol). But if you're going into it even looking to make beer money you might be disappointed. Especially because while you figure out what the market is looking for you'll probably spend a good deal of money with no returns.

Make what you want to make, sell it if you want to and people want to buy it.

I will say, online selling is incredibly oversaturated and hard to do. Sites like Etsy are now filled with instant garbage drop shipped from Aliexpress so it can be hard for people to actually find your stuff. Making your own website costs money and may require skills you don't have (but could learn!) Look for local art markets in your area instead. People come to those things looking to shop, specifically looking to shop local. It might be harder if you're not in an urban area, but where I live is filled with them.

You could try blacksmithing, people will pay well for a finely made knife. If you like horses and don't mind how scary they are you could get into farriering with the horseshoes you make. But then we're talking more of a job than a hobby.

A good friend of mine made good money turning glass bottles of various types into bongs. The best sellers were the marble soda bottles with unlicensed Hello Kitty labels, but Sanrio C&D'd him pretty fucking quick.

Otherwise, I can say for 100% certainty that the answer is absolutely not pretty rocks wrapped up in wire, aka, "jewelry". Every lazy wannabe craft fair monarch is pumping out these low-effort bits of trash to the point that at least a third of the booths at any craft fair I go to is just stuffed to the gills with them.

Shipbuilding, if you're looking for decent income. Aerospace engineering, too.

In my experience there is already such a wealth of professional and hobby products out there that it's impossible to break into the market. Find something you like and just do it as a hobby if you can recoup any of the cost selling what you make that's great but it shouldn't be the main focus. The worst thing that can happen to a hobby is it becoming a job.

You could try blacksmithing, people will pay well for a finely made knife. If you like horses and don't mind how scary they are you could get into farriering with the horseshoes you make. But then we're talking more of a job than a hobby.