Double the Fun!

As I mentioned back in January, one of my goals for the year was to get a second laser. In February I went and saw one in person and placed my order. I patiently waited for a month for the new machine to arrive. And boy was it worth the wait!

This new machine is twice as big and twice as powerful as my old machine! In fact, the old machine will fit inside the new one!

I haven't had a chance to do anything new with the new machine, but I've been able to complete orders more quickly. I just finished an order of 200 wedding invitations and it was nice to have one machine solely dedicated to those invitations and I could still work on other orders with the small machine.

Eventually I'm hoping to make larger pieces and the new machine will cut thicker pieces as well, so I'll be experimenting with that too. I've uploaded a quick video I took with my cell phone. I apologize it's not the greatest, but it will give you an idea of how the machines run.

Let's Do a Jig

Wanna do a jig with me? No, not the Irish dancing kind! What kind you ask then? One that will make lasering more efficient!!!

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A jig is a template that allows me to laser several objects at once and line them up in the exact same spot each time. This is nice for small objects. They may only take 20 seconds to laser, but then I stand there feeding the laser all day. This way I can be more efficient...and multi-task more :)

This need for a jig came when I bought some new wine bottle stoppers. This style already has the cork attached making them impossible to laser free-standing. I starting by cutting 12 holes in a piece of wood the size of the cork. I then built legs using the left over circles to raise the jig so the corks would be off the table and flat on the board. I thought I was pretty slick for reusing the cut circles :) Until I tried to use the jig and it wouldn't line up in "home position" inside the laser!

As you can see from this photo, there are two rulers on the top and left sides where I line up my work so it is in "home position". By adding the legs, I was only able to eyeball it and hope I was lined up...not good. So I added the second board on the bottom of the jig so I could line it up. Several calculations later...and I had a working jig!

Here you can see the bottle stoppers in the jig from the top and how they hang through on the bottom.

After I created my first jig, I thought of other items a jig would be handy for! I made two more for my magnets and pendants. These jigs started with the same basic concept...cut a bunch of holes in 1" and 1.5" diameters to match the sizes of my items. Since I didn't have to raise this jig off the table...it was super easy.

I just drop the wood blanks in...and out comes several beautiful magnets and pendants :) I love that these jigs allow me to get so much more done!

What have you created lately that makes your work easier?

Etched Glass Awards

I got to add another fun project to my list of firsts with my laser a couple of weeks ago! New projects are always exciting and scary all at the same time! I just never know how something will turn out until I give it a try :)

These glass awards turned out great! I did a couple of samples and sent photos to the buyer for approval. They loved them, so off I went to engrave 27 awards!

The trickiest part about these is that they are curved. They won't work on my rotary attachment (that I use for etching wine glasses and champagne flutes), so I had to auto focus in the center of the award and make sure I didn't go too wide so the laser would stay in focus for the entire engraving.

I engraved these on the back side, so I had to remember to flip my text before printing! I like the "reverse engraving" technique because it comes out nice and clear and gives the awards some depth.

These came in a pretty generic box with the award company's logo on the front. I prettied them up by adding one of my business stickers to the top of each box with my web address on them as well :)

One Year With My Laser

One year ago today, my amazing, life-changing laser engraver was delivered! I can't believe it's really been a year, but after looking back at all the amazing things I've made I can see how wonderful of an investment this was! This little machine really made the dream of owning my own business and working full-time from home a real possibility! 2012 is my year to prove to myself that I can do this! My main goal for the year is to get all of our finances in line for me to run Memories for Life full-time!

I thought it would be fun to look back on the last year at some of the projects I made. Some made it to my shop, some were just for fun, some need more work and some are still to be added! Have fun watching my slideshow :)

What was your biggest event in 2011? What are your big plans/goals for 2012?

Wanna See My New Toy :)

I've been talking about my laser and my rotary attachment for quite some time now and I shared some new creations on Tuesday. Today I thought I'd show you what this thing actually looks like in action. I found a nice short video on YouTube that shows the rotary attachment. Mine is made by a different company, but it works in the same manner.

This thing is SO much fun! I've lasered a few more things with the rotary and I have more playing to come. Once I get a good amount of pieces I want to put in my shop, a good friend of mine is going to take photos for me! The perks of having a photographer friend :) I found that photographing glass is very hard!

What have you been playing with this week?

Expanding My Business Again!

Back in February I purchased a laser engraver and I've been having so much fun with it ever since! By far the best investment I've made for my business. Since purchasing the laser, I've been wanting to get a rotary attachment for it as well. The rotary is an add-on for the laser that allows me to engrave round objects like wine glasses, champagne flutes, candle votives and vases!

Well...IT'S HERE!!!!

I got my rotary last week and finally got to play with it yesterday! All I can say is WOW!!!

It was so easy to set up (once I figured out how to get the crumb tray out...blonde moment)! I was lasering in no time!

I tried a pint glass first and it came out awesome! But I quickly found out how hard it is to photo glass! So I apologize for the terrible photos. I promise they're awesome in person :)

Next I did a candle votive and again...awesome! I love that I can etch all the way around things!

The blue champagne flute is by far my favorite! I have to get my hands on some more of these glasses! The peacock just belongs on this flute!

Next I tried a large wine glass and goblet...not so awesome :( These are heavier on one end and aren't as level as the other items I tried. Sometimes the wheels wouldn't turn, other times they would turn too fast. I will have to look for better glasses and do some more practicing.

This rotary is going to be so awesome! Everyone I tell about it wants custom glasses! And I think I already have about 10 orders for Christmas presents :) I better hurry up and get this thing figured out...LOL!

You can be sure this won't be my last rotary update! And hopefully next time I'll have better photos!!!