Taking photos to show what I am selling

try to put the items on a nice background, no random coffee cup behind it lol, so that all the attention is on your item. i wouldnt try to posh it up too much because it is a handmade home business and i think the super fancy photos always look add when showing something like that.

I would suggest you take close up shots to show the detailing esp. if you are making jewelry. As already suggested have a clean background. a piece of black fabric would even work.

make use of natural lighting
it makes a huge difference in pictures

Put white paper behind and stand above the item to take a pic without the cluttered background then maybe one or two close ups of details

Yeah I agree with Lacey if the photo's look too professional I think it take away from the hand-made thing and looks more buisness/commercial. You could use a wallpaper sample for the background?
good luck!

check out my stuff for ideas

http://www.discoverdigitalphotography.com/2011/product-photography-tips/ the white cardboard background looks most neutral imho and very natural if you use natural light (outside or through a window)
that's what I usually do when I take pictures for ebay for example (but with artificial light here; the white fabric on the right is used to reflect more light on the shoes from the other side):
If white backdrops look too boring to you, you can use a patterned one instead but I find patterns too distracting