The Answer May Have Been Right In Front Of Me

Albert Einstein said "Necessity is the Mother of all Invention" but until recently, I couldn't care less. That is until last year was almost the Christmas that wasn't. that's because THERE WAS NO MONEY. My job barely paid the bills, and it still, BARELY does. I was extremely desperate to make sure my kids had a Christmas, and I was becoming more destitute by the day.
  A second job was not going to work for me. No one wants to work around "your other job " They need you fully committed to THEIR schedule and didn't find me a good fit.  I would need special consideration and a little flexibility in my schedule in order to work two jobs.  I needed to find some cash and I needed it quick!  December was two weeks away.
   I could barely sleep.When I did, I didn't wake feeling rested. My brain was in overdrive .I tried to understand why everyone around me had so much and we had so little. What was different about them , that they could afford  a Hundred thousand dollar house payment, TWO new cars, and worse yet.... A Christmas Club account! The very people I work have enough disposable income to painlessly have their Christmas fund deducted from their paychecks on a weekly basis.When the joyous season arrives, they cash their checks and go shopping! Every time I turned around I was being asked if  I  had my Christmas shopping done yet. My eyes would fall to the ground and I would mutter some incomprehensible form of  "almost". But I hadn't even started. As my family's provider , It felt horrible, and I knew the Christmas clock was ticking.
  I began to scour the net for any ideas how I might make some descent money from home.Googling key words like " good money from home" and "top business to start with no money". You can imagine the kind of returns I got.  Dog grooming, consulting business, Certified public accountant.  Ya right! Who would pay for my consultation on how not to love on a shoestring budget? I deduced that a dog grooming business wouldn't work for me either as my memory served up a healthy dose of the hack job of a hair cut I once inflicted on my son. CPA ? Another quick search from mother google revealed I would first need a 4 year college degree! How is that an easy to start Home based business?
                      

                                       Lightning Strikes

  Days of mulling over Internet pages left me empty handed. And then I came across this picture. I thought , "Now theres something you don't see every day. Someone made something useful from their garbage." As my hand moved the mouse to click back to mother google it rang in my head again as if someone was yelling at me "HEY STUPID!  I SAID SOMEONE MADE SOMETHING OUGHTA NUTHIN AND IT LOOKS GREAT !.... maybe someone else would thing it looks great too?" I stopped, and stared at the picture again. "Empty bottle, Christmas lights ' ? What could that possibly cost? Trash is free..and Lights , especially Christmas lights are Cheap! But wait. How much could an empty wine bottle with lights in it possibly be worth anyways? Again , the voice in my head reminded me to at least investigate before moving on , I mean.. that picture did leave an impact on you didn't it? Could it not do the same to someone else?
  Another quick search in google gave me an answer. Some of these bottles were SELLING on Etsy  ( whatever  an Etsy is?)  for  $25.  each.