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I'm very curious how other's handle this. I love making cards, blankets, and various other homemade items. My mother has asked me to make some items for her to give as baby shower gifts. She wants to pay me for them. I told her to only pay me for the supplies but she wants to pay me for my "time". It is my hobby and is wonderful stress relief when I'm involved making these items and I sort of feel weird charging anyone. :? She is insisting on paying me double of whatever the material cost to make them---she said she hopes that will cover part of the time involved. Do you charge your family and friends when you make homemade items for them to give as gifts??
I guess I can say this SAHM wishes that I could make some extra money doing stress reliving "chores" like that. It would give me another excuse to "play" other than I am getting ready for a workshop......
I would definately allow her to pay for the supplies..
Charging your mom though? Would it be possible to "charge" her in different ways?
For instance, does she babysit for you? or do other things for you? That way you could say that you consider THIS paying her back? Or tell her you will not charge her (because she is your mother) but ask her to spread the word that the gifts are handmade & people can purchase them from you??
Just a thought?
Ronney
__________________ I'm okay when everything is not okay ~tori amos
I haven't had anyone ask me to make something for them, but your mom makes an excellent point. Your time IS worth something. I did cards for a craft show and felt funny pricing them at $2 each, but you know what? I spent a lot of time designing, cutting, stamping and assembling each one of those cards (even though I did some assembly line fashion, each one still took time) so I realized that it was TOTALLY worth it to charge them that. And they bought them.
Also, have you thought that you may be offending your mom by not wanting to take her money? I know you don't feel right about it, but if you feel you can't charge for it, tell her the cost of your supplies and let her pay you double that amount. You know it probably won't cover the time you spend, and she does too, but maybe it will be a happy compromise that won't hurt feelings. does that make sense?
If your mom doesn't buy them from you, she'll buy them from someplace else, and pay then for their materials and time. She obviously is proud of your abilities, and knows you do a beautiful job on the things you make and would rather spend her money with you. I wouldn't feel bad. After all, she is the one who set the price. It probably makes her feel better about having you do it. SHE knows your time is worth something. YOU need to know it too! :P
I don't know that. I have never been offered payment for a request. My mom likes me to makes cards for her but I do it and she sends them to whoever. I don't know if I would charge or not. I guess getting reimpursed for supplies would be good but I think spreading the word and babysitting would be great.
And no I hadn't thought about the fact that I might be offending her by not accepting her money. She wants four homemade baby blankets. Cost me about $12 each to make. Takes about one hour to make each one. She is determined to pay me at least $100. She said it saves her the frustration of going shopping and it gives her a unique gift to give.
It is ALWAYS so helpful to hear others opinions on these things and to see how others handle them. Like I said to me it is just a hobby and just for fun.
My input is a bit late, but in case you are still looking...
YES, I charge my mom...she is my number one customer...actually my ONLY one (well, some other relatives are going to start buying now because they loved their Christmas presents so much...what a compliment!)
She loves to give these things as gifts and it saves her time and it helps me out in supporting my "hobby". I think it is great!
My mom also insists on paying me for cards. It's her way of supporting me, and I usually let her know that I'll reinvest it in another special set that she will enjoy. I always make gifts of cards for my mom, but she buys others throughout the year... Let your mom do that (unless she's on a very limited income, and if that's the case I would graciously take the money and somehow find an excuse to cover some of her necessary expenses with it). It will make your mom feel good, and it will make you feel good.
Your mom has a good point about saving her from dealing with a shopping trip. I would say let her pay you whatever she wants. If you do not feel comfortable with this you can always "funnel" some of the money she pays you back to her via an occasional surprise set of cards, a mini scrapbook, etc that she might use.
My mom has bought cards from me before and I wanted to just give them to her but she insisted. She has said that if she did not buy them from me she would have to get them elsewhere and she would much rather have my cards and me get the money.
If you let your mom pay then you could take the money and buy more stamping supplies.
On another note--have you thought about putting a cute handstamped tag on the blankets that are for gifts. With you name etc on them this might lead to more business for you and it would look very "professional" looking!
Just a thought! Good luck with what ever you choose to do! Gina
I agree with the others who recommend telling her how much the supplies cost and let her pay you what she wants. That way, you don't have to feel guilty for 'charging' her a set amount. I'm sure your mom appreciates your hard work and I know you said it only takes and hour or so to make each blanket, but these days, time is a very precious commodity and your mom appreciates you using your time for her. Let us know what you decide.
Ronda
how much would she spent on this person's gift if she bought something? most people have a price in mind.....let her pay you that. it should cover supplies and your time!
I use to make many different types of handmade items...the biggest hit was my Barbie clothing. I had sold my items in consignment stores and craft sales and then my mom had asked me to make some items for wedding and baby showers and then for her card club and other events throughout the year. She paid me for my supplies and then I charged her $1 for my time. I told her that I would have made these items anyway and that I couldn't charge her for my time as that is exactly how I wanted to spend my down time away from the family for a few moments in my evenings. After a couple yeats of doing this for her (and me) she didn't want to pay me anymore but still wanted the items. Needless to say, I stopped making things for her when she wouldn't pay for them. I felt bad because she was my mom, but if I couldn't get her to pay for my items then how could I get a stranger to want to pay me for them????
I say......Charge for your time and cost. Most business people told me to take your cost to make the item and mulitply by 2 or 3 to get your price to sell it at. Then they asked me "Aren't you worth it?"
Yes...was my answer and should be yours too.
HTH
__________________ LeAne SCS#2819 & Grandma to Lindsey! [email protected]
If she wants to give you money - let her - but let it be a donation of her choosing... tell her "this is what they cost me to make... you decide what they are worth"
I've done it many times before and never been disappointed or had a bad experience yet...
I've had similar issues come up before when doing other "freelance" work for friends. I finally had someone else who works for this friend say to me: What do you make at your "real job"? This person told me to take that figure and double it -- you figure, you've already proven that your time in some area is worth that much.
For my stamped items, I try to sell them at 3 times what the materials cost. For instance, a baggie of the glass marble magnets cost $1 in materials. I sold a TON of them at a craft fair for $3 per baggie. At first I felt guilty, then I realized: I spent a LOT of late nights cutting and stamping and adhering. If nothing else, I should be paid for the sleep I lost or the time I spent away from my husband ... or away from the TV!
A lot of times, we don't think we are worth it. We get caught up in the idea of people PAYING us for something we love to do. But doesn't Donald Trump talk about how much he loves to build huge buildings? I'm sure he wouldn't do it for free! He likes the work, and he has no trouble making money from it! Just a thought ...
I did 15 really cute baby shower invites for a friend of mine and I was just going to charge for supplies but she wouldn't have that, she wanted me to charge her. She and everyone else loved the invites and said they were very special and not just some store bought card that half a million people can get. So I charged her $1 each card, she added on $5 more. I was getting compliments left and right on them so I know it was ok to charge.
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I do!
I charge my non family for projects (there haven't been many) LOL.
What I do with my family, is I give them an invoice for my materials and shipping (when I have to ship to them). That way they can pay me whatever they choose. I know I will be at least getting my $$$ back for the supplies and they almost always give me extra. I just don't feel right about charging my mom, or SIL.
When my mom wants cards made, she orders the paper, stamp set (if I don't have it) and I get to keep the set when I am done as well as any left over supplies! Of course, I make all the cards! LOL BUT, I do it without hesitation, it IS my mom!
My mother has asked me to make some items for her to give as baby shower gifts. She wants to pay me for them. She is insisting on paying me double of whatever the material cost to make them---she said she hopes that will cover part of the time involved. Do you charge your family and friends when you make homemade items for them to give as gifts??
If your mother is giving the items as gifts, I'd say, "Sure, charge for the item." Double the cost of the materials is still a good deal. I'm sure she couldn't purchase an item in the store that inexpensively.
do YOU charge???
