BLOG POSTS
Simple Shaker Christmas Ornaments
Holiday Shaker Ornaments Project Overview: Hopefully, this will be up in time for all your holiday crafting needs. Shaker ornaments are not new, there are thousands of variations and styles, but something I’ve surely seen in passing inspired me to do a very simple take on the idea. This is infinitely versatile – you can […]
Using Deepnest for the Glowforge (or Other Laser Cutter)
Using Deepnest.io Project Overview: This is a really simple post, made even simpler because if you don’t want to read you can watch a video! WATCH THE VIDEO Take some time to check out the settings. There are lots of options for how to adjust the way the software nests your designs. DOWNLOAD DEEPNEST This […]
UV Resin Revisited
Revisiting UV Resin Project Overview: So the first you might notice is that this blog has a new format! I spend most of my regular workday working on web stuff and being on the computer, so working up the energy to make a few much needed updates to my site was a challenge. Well, it’s […]
Laser Cut Name Sign Design | Additional Techniques
In my previous post, I showed a few techniques for the basics of sign design. In this follow up post, I will share a few additional tips and tricks and show a more complex sign design. The Glowforge offers so many options so mixing and matching techniques allows for infinite possibilities. OVERVIEW So the main […]
Simple Name Sign Design
Making name signs is one of the most popular Glowforge projects. It’s very easy, and it’s a great project to start with. It’s also pretty lucrative for many sign makers. Making simple sign designs is easy. DESIGN PROCESS – WATCH THE VIDEO If you’d like to fast track through the design process you can watch […]
Getting Bright Colors with Unicorn Spit
In a previous experiment, I tried painting a pair of maple plywood earrings with alcohol ink. For the most part, it worked fine, but I wanted to see what my other choices were. I had seen a product called unicorn spit which is a water-based stain. I bought a set on Amazon and decided to […]
Advanced Sign Techniques II – Adhesives & Standoffs
I’m currently working my way through some more “advanced” sign-making techniques. This post will primarily focus on one of the most annoying things in sign making – attaching everything together. THE CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH SIGN This sign was a sort of rush order I had to complete in a single weekend. It was given […]
Soldering LEDs for Signage – Sign Design Techniques
In a previous post, I worked on creating an LED backed university sign as a gift. Well, I’m at it again, but this time I wanted to try my hand at soldering the led connections myself. This university sign presented some unique challenges. It is more complicated than any other sign I’ve made and required […]
Designing Jewelry Stands for Laser Cutting
In my previous post I did a lot of experimentation with making small pressure fit earrings or charms (or whatever I haven’t totally decided what they will be). Well, now I need a place to display all of those items for sale. I decided to put together some simple display stands in Illustrator. Not interested […]
Acrylic Super Haul – Testing a Range of Acrylics on the Glowforge
Recently I’ve been doing a lot of research into different Acrylic suppliers. Although there are plenty of places to get solid colors, I really wanted to start trying some more unique patterns – in particular, I’ve been looking for things that emulate mother of pearl. A lot of what I make is jewelry – meaning […]