This is NPR's Life Kit, and I'm Ruth Tam.

Having a hobby or skill outside your day job can feel like having a hidden superpower.

Maybe you dabble in woodworking, play the ukulele, or are really good at giving haircuts.

But what if you want to share your superpower with others and make a little money off of it?

How do you take your hobby and turn it into a bonafide side gig?

I want to introduce you to someone who's done just that.

Ty Johnson. She's a working professional with an alter ego.

I am a lawyer by day. I work for a hotel company.

And my side business is, well, I call myself the DIY auntie.

As the DIY auntie, Ty hand so's fabric toys for kids.

I have an Etsy business where I sell handmade alphabet sets.

I sell number sets and I sell name sets where you can get a child's name spelled out.

All of which are meant to aid in a child's early learning development.

Sewing and crafting has always been Ty's favorite way to unwind and de-stress.

But after she made an alphabet set for her baby niece, family members were like,

Hey, this is amazing. You should sell these.

And she was like, that's not a bad idea.

As someone who went through college and then law school, I have student-londed

coming out my ears. And so this is literally the dream.

Taking something you love, a hobby, and turning it into something that can make you

a little bit of money so that I can do things like pay down my student loans.

Or even if I wanted to, you know, go on a trip.

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