budget talk

Learn a New Skill or Hobby This Fall

September 3, 2009 /

I can’t believe it’s almost Labor Day. Although a few nights of chilly weather has made me think about fall and winter and what I’m going to do when the gardening season is over. For me, it’s the perfect time to learn a new skill. Firstly, you can learn to do something that could save you money at a later date. And two, you could make something and turn your hobby into another stream of income. Having said that, you don’t want to invest a ton of time and money into pursuing something you hate…and okay, find out you’re hopeless at it. So here are some sites I’ve found offering free classes, free patterns, and low cost supplies on everything from art to knitting.

Cheap Joes
I keep saying I’m going to take an art class but I never get around to it. For the budding artist in you, check out www.cheapjoes.com. Their tagline says Make More Art, Spend Less Money…I like the sound of that!

The King of Crafts
I stumbled upon this site www.craftking.com that seems to sell supplies for any craft. Prices look okay too.

Fiber Arts
If fiber arts are more your thing, you’ll want to visit www.dharmatrading.com.

Can’t Decide
And if you don’t know what you’d like to pursue, visit www.discoverahobby.com which has everything from dancing to investing.

Crafts and More
And I found this one with lots of good stuff www.craftsetc.com

Handbags
I’ve made a couple of homemade bags and this site has some free patterns www.ghees.com

Need More Instruction
If you want to buy some books or DVDs, yes try the library but also check out www.ctpub.com

Two I’ve Mentioned Before
And if you missed the following two sites last time I mentioned them, there’s www.favecrafts.com and www.dollarstorecrafts.com

Want To Try Selling?
And should you find you want to sell some of these arts and crafts, two sites to do just that are www.etsy.com and check out www.indiecraftshows.com

Learn More Skills
Check out www.selfmadescholar.com and also www.ed2go.com they have some great classes that are tied in with community education programs.

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