If you can yourself a hobbyist then you likely struggle with communicating the true value of your time for your craft.

People are asking you to make things because they value the product they see that you can make, but it doesn't sound like you've internalized the same measure of value of your work.

All that to say, my advice is that when people give you a request, communicate your response in the following general framework:

-first things first, I'm really backed up and don't really have time for new commissions HOWEVER

-if you're willing to wait at least ___________ time then I might be able to fit you in BUT

-I need you to understand that your project will likely be much more expensive than you imagine it to be because it's custom, and the amount of time that will go into making a custom design that meets my quality standards will be very high.

-i generally commission a piece with an estimated rate of _______ (price per hour - DON'T undersell yourself here. An entire new conversation could go into pricing the value of your time, but that's a tangent we won't go into here) and just as a VERY rough estimate I can already guess that your idea would take _______ hours in design time alone, not even considering materials or the time it would take me to create the piece.

-if you're ok with all that, then maybe we can work together. Why don't you reach out in _______ amount of weeks/months and we'll reengage? (Kick the can down the road)

-in the meantime, if you really want your piece before then, I recommend you check out ________ (recommend some good online retailers)

Any of these blanks can be adjusted. If it's someone you really don't want to work with, inflate all the timelines. If it's someone you are close to, give them the lower hourly rate because they're friends and family or whatever.

But it's professional, structured, flexible, and sets realistic expectations. Most people will get waved away simply by the price, as you know already.

But most people won't start out realizing how much time and effort goes into what they're asking for so you really need to help communicate that so they have a better understanding that a custom knife sheath or whatever isn't something you can just whip up in an afternoon for the price of a couple pizzas.