Do you have a crafty teen with an entrepreneurial mindset? Do you want to support and encourage their drive to start their own business? It’s easier than ever to set up an Etsy shop or a Shopify store and start selling handmade crafts today. The hardest part? Figuring out what to sell. If you’re fresh out of ideas or need some inspiration, I have 25 amazing crafts to make and sell for teens.
25 Crafts for Teens to Make and Sell Online
1. Custom Watercolor Pet Portraits
Pets are family, and like any other family member, their portrait deserves a spot on the wall. There’s a high demand for custom pet portraits, especially those that are hand-painted. For teens with a talent for painting, custom pet watercolor portraits may be the perfect craft to create and sell online.
Just look at RiverryStudio on Etsy, which offers mini-portraits. This item alone has more than 5,100 reviews, and prices start at $20 for a digital download of the image.
2. Polymer Clay Earrings
Polymer clay is a fun medium to work with, and it’s easy to make fun creations you can sell without needing expensive equipment. This special type of clay bakes at a low temperature in the oven and hardens just like traditional clay.
Polymer clay earrings are a hot commodity on Etsy, and you’ll find plenty of adorable designs. Teens can easily master this craft, and the supplies are more than affordable.
One popular Etsy shop, LupinandFig, sells only polymer clay jewelry and has over 900 sales. NoomCottage has more than 2,000 sales and offers some of the most adorable creations.
3. Crochet Hats
Crochet is the perfect craft for teens. The materials are inexpensive, and they don’t need anything apart from yarn and needles to get started.
As it turns out, people also love hand-crocheted items, like hats. This hat from SimplyMadeByErin has 84 reviews and sells for $40 a piece. Erin’s shop has had more than 37,000 sales.
It’s easier than you think to get started with crochet. Here’s a great tutorial on how to make a simple hat:
4. Bath Bombs
Bath bombs are a popular personal care item, but they also make great gifts for any occasion. No wonder it’s one of the top crafts to make and sell for teens.
Etsy shop OrganzaNaturals has had more than 1,300 sales, and bath bombs are one of their most popular items.
Teens can get creative with colors, scents and designs to create a product that stands out from the crowd. Getting started is easy, too. Check out the tutorial below.
5. Bead Necklaces
With bead necklaces, teens can let their creativity shine without needing expensive or dangerous equipment. For teens who are interested in jewelry-making, bead necklaces can be a profitable craft to make and sell on Etsy or Shopify.
Just look at this boho beaded choker, which is going for $44 on Etsy. At least 100 people have purchased it. Or this gorgeous dragonfly necklace, which has attracted dozens of sales.
The supplies you need to get started are simple, relatively inexpensive and can be found at your local hobby shop.
6. Personalized Cutting Boards
Personalized cutting boards are so popular on Etsy that they made our list of best-selling items that generate over $10,000 a month in sales.
This customizable cutting board on Etsy has over 20K reviews!
With a little creativity and a wood-burning tool, teens can sell custom cutting boards to customers looking for unique gifts.
Plus, they’ll have an edge over the competition, as most sellers use laser engraving for their products. Cutting boards can be sourced from a local vendor, Amazon or maybe even a local hobby shop.
7. Hand Carved Wooden Spoons
Teens who are skilled at woodworking can carve wooden spoons and sell them online. These wooden spoons already have 30 reviews on Etsy and would make a stunning gift for a friend or family member. You can use a variety of wood species and even add intricate carvings to make these utensils a treasured heirloom.
Here’s a simple tutorial to get started with spoon carving:
8. Soap
When most people think of crafts to make and sell for teens, they think of soap. Why? Because it’s a fun craft to make, and there’s endless room for creativity. From scents to colors and fun add-ins, like herbs, there are so many ways to create unique soaps that customers will love.
Take this black raspberry soap, for example. It has over 2,400 reviews from customers, but the shop has over 100K reviews.
Soap is a simple craft to get started with, although it will require some investment in equipment. But this is a craft that a teen could turn into a flourishing business.
Check out the tutorial to learn how to make soap right from your kitchen:
9. Knitted Dishcloths
Teens with a knack for knitting can stitch up dishcloths in no time and sell them on Etsy for $5-$6 a piece. The Etsy shop UndertheWillowTreee has sold dozens of dishcloth sets, and you’ll find plenty more listings with plentiful sales.
Knitting is a fun craft, and teens can make their dishcloths stand out using different colors and patterns.
This tutorial is a great place to start for anyone who is just getting started with knitting.
10. Gemstone or Bead Bracelets
Gemstone and bead bracelets are a fun and creative craft that teens can transform into a successful business. Shoppers on Etsy love these types of bracelets, and teens can make their designs stand out by choosing different colors and styles.
Take this moonstone bracelet from Etsy. It has over 300 reviews alone, and the entire shop has over 4,000 reviews. This is a simple bracelet with a stretchy cord, so anyone can create it. The hardest part will be sourcing the gemstones or beads, but you can also find them on Etsy.
11. Knitted Scarf
Teens who love knitting can also create scarves to sell on Etsy. This scarf from Caitlin of five21crafts has 50 reviews, and the entire shop has had over 400 sales. Custom options sell for $40-$75+.
Although knitting takes time, scarves are a simple project, and the materials are inexpensive.
12. Custom Name Stickers
Are you looking for really simple crafts to make and sell for teens? Custom name stickers are a top seller on Etsy, and teens only need a few simple supplies to make them, like:
- A Cricut machine
- Sticker paper
- Designs and design software
This seller on Etsy has sold over 1,200 custom name stickers. Shipping and the cost to make these stickers are negligible, and teens can get creative with their designs.
13. Embroidery Hoop Art
Hoop art is hard to describe, but it’s a form of embroidery that allows you to make cute, fun designs that people love buying. You can see the perfect example of hoop art here and here. Both of these sellers have hundreds of reviews on the items listed, making them thousands of dollars in the process.
14. Cute and Funny T-Shirts
Are you wearing a shirt? Cute and funny t-shirts are something that you can certainly make on your own and begin selling them. Hundreds of people have left reviews for this shirt that says, “I’m So Crafty I Sweat Glitter.”
You’ll need a heat press to make your own design and a lot of wit to come up with cute and funny phrases or designs.
15. Scented, Fancy Candles
I am guilty of having dozens of candles, and I still buy more because it’s almost an addiction at this point. Candle Science has all of the supplies that you’ll need to get started, and if you want to make even more money for each candle, you can add crystals just like this candle on Etsy.
And the demand for high-quality scented candles seems always to increase, so there’s more than enough room in the market for you to make money.
Check out this tutorial to see how easy it is to make candles at home:
16. Pressed Flower Bookmarks
Nearly 50% of people are reading a book right now, and while they may get lost in the narrative and plot, they also easily lose their place on the page. Flower bookmarks solve this problem. They’re fast and easy to make, and no two bookmarks look alike.
Just look at these amazing creations by SayItWithFlower’s shop.
17. Handmade Bags
Whether going to the beach, movies or somewhere else, homemade bags, or totes make your life easier. Plus, they are fast sellers on places like Etsy. You can promote these bags as gift items, sell them plain or with decorations, and there is more than enough inspiration on Etsy to get the teen’s creative juices flowing.
I really like these bags, and so do almost 200 other people who have reviewed them.
18. Stained Glass Window Decor
Who wouldn’t want to buy a stained glass hummingbird? These adorable stained glass creations are quick sellers, and teens can customize them with each order. Truly one of a kind, GlassArtStories has over 42,000 reviews – they’ve sold a ton of items.
And if you take a liking to making stained glass decor, you can consider suncatchers, which also sell really well online. Here’s a good example of one.
19. Painted Rocks
Sometimes, crafting isn’t the first thing that comes to a teen’s mind when they want to sell something. It takes a lot of work and imagination to be crafty. But painted rocks are hot sellers for indoor plant enthusiasts and are so simple to make. BlueBirdRocks has a nice store selling rocks and you can watch the video below to see how to get started.
20. Miniature Felted Animals
Small, cute and sellable, miniature felted animals are fun to make – I’ll leave a tutorial video below – and some sellers are making $55+ from them, like this one on Etsy. As one of the leading crafts to make and sell for teens, these items will easily sell:
- Online
- In-person to friends
- Anywhere
For even more inspiration, just look at these adorable felted rabbits.
21. Macrame Decor
Macrame is a popular way to make textiles using unique knotting techniques. Crafting is a lot of fun, and people will pay a lot of money for macrame decor like this one on Etsy. One of the hardest parts of selling this type of decor is that you need to handmake it, so production can take a while.
But people are willing to pay $50+ for each item, which is great money for a teen.
22. Personalized Tote Bag
Cricut machines are perfect for making personalized tote bags. You can see this amazing example, and over 20 people have this design in their carts already. If you have a Cricut, it’s simple to change the design to add a person’s name or personal sayings on the tote.
And, teens can opt to niche down into specific tote options, like cute options for weddings or even for a day out at the beach.
23. Shower Steamers
What’s the one thing that people do daily? Shower. Steamers are a great option for teens who want to explore their creative side on Etsy. Teens can easily create a steamer like this one, and they sell for $5 – $8.
Not sure how to make a shower steamer like this?
I’ll drop a YouTube video below for you to follow that walks you through how to make shower steamers step-by-step:
24. Crochet Emotional Support Gifts
Bringing a smile to someone’s face or helping them overcome challenges is very rewarding, and teens can also make money off of these support gifts. CrochetUSDream and LeylaPet both have adorable examples that will give you inspiration to make these gifts yourself.
And most of these gifts resemble cacti or other plants, all of which have smiles and cute sayings on them to help someone going through an emotional time.
What skill will your teen need? Crocheting, which is a neat skill and hobby to keep busy with.
25. Dreamcatchers
Dreamcatchers are always popular for anyone who believes that these items catch bad dreams, ward off evil spirits or just look really neat in their rooms. Teens can easily make dream catchers, like these two from ArMoniZar (here and here).
You can use these Etsy listings as inspiration. A bit of tree branches, netting, feathers and crystals are all teens will need to make and sell their very own dreamcatchers.
