Wordless Wednesday - Wine Time :)

New Wine Bottle Stopper Designs

It's been quite a while since I've added any new bottle stopper designs to my shop. I've happily accepted a few custom orders with fun designs lately that I couldn't wait to get in my shop. (gotta love those custom orders!)

This Custom State Stopper is a fun idea for a wedding, house warming or to announce that you're moving. I can engrave any state or country.

This Damask Design is a nice, formal option. I like the bold/modern font that the customer chose for this design as well.

I've had this Wine Glass Stopper as an option for my bulk stopper listing, but hadn't had the opportunity to engrave one yet. I loved this idea for a bachelorette party. These would make fun gifts for all the girls attending or as a gift for the bride.

The options are endless with these little stoppers!

Fall Show Prep

My first fall craft show is just 2.5 weeks away! How the heck did that happen! From September to November, I am signed up for 4 shows and it's time to start getting ready NOW!

As I make more and more new items, I also have to come up with new ideas for displays. Last year I took some of my Wood Wine Bottle Stoppers with me to shows, but they looked like the image above...a mess! So this year I wanted something to help them stand out and be seen easier.

This is what I cam up with. I took a coaster holder (that they were in originally) and cut holes in the bottom with my laser.

Now they look more organized, but I'm still not sure they stand out much. I'm thinking of painting the coaster holder so the stoppers stand out more and then putting a little sign on the front of the box that says what they are and their price (so I don't have to price each one individually!).

 What do you think? Good display or keep working on it?

Happy Anniversary

The 5th Anniversary is known as the "Wood Anniversary". It is said that the strength of a marriage bond is represented by the traditional gift of wood for a 5th anniversary because wood is strong and long-lasting.

I recently made a Wood Card for a 5th Wedding Anniversary and wondered why I hadn't created more items for anniversary gifts! Many of the items in my store would be perfect for these gifts...I just need to market them that way!

 

I started with the Wood Card that I made for the recent order.

I'm also thinking Wood Frames, Wood Photos and Wood Photo Albums would be perfect for anniversary gifts! I haven't decided if I should create separate listings to market these items, or just add "5th anniversary" and "wood anniversary" to my current listings as tags. (I'd love your suggestions here!)

And wood items aren't just great for a 5th anniversary gift, they're perfect for any anniversary :) I created the sweetest card and bottle stopper recently and just have to share them :)

This card made me smile...what a sweet guy!

Wordless Wednesday - Take Time to Relax :)

Uncork & Unwind

Bottle Stoppers are IN

Listed HERE

I'm so excited to get my new Wine Bottle Stoppers listed in my Etsy Shop! My Optic Crystal Bottle Stoppers have done very well and I think these wood stoppers will make a nice addition to the shop.

Listed HERE

The best part...the price! These are a nice alternative to the optic crystal stoppers since they are about 1/2 the price! They're fun to have around and make the perfect gift...or a whole gift set!

And what I really like...they would make aweso me Wedding Favors! As most of you know, I've been adding more and more items to my shop for weddings. I think these would make the perfect personalized favors :)

I've added a couple already and look for the others to be listed in the next couple of days. If you see one that you'd like that's not listed, just let me know :)

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?

Treasury Thanks

It's time again to thank the wonderful individuals who have added me to their lovely treasuries this week :) This might just be my favorite post to do each week! I love finding myself in treasuries...and I love returning the favor by featuring these curators here :)

~So help me in thanking them by stopping by the treasuries they curated as well as their shops!~

Karen of MysticWynd featured my Keepsake Box in her Skinamarinky Dinky Dink, Skinamarinky Doo treasury! I've noticed that a lot of people have been adding my wedding items to their favorites, and I think they should be adding this Beautiful Bracelet from Karen's shop as well! Wedding season is just around the corner!

And Linda of lindab142 featured my Personalized Wine Bottle Stopper in her Valentne's Day Gift Ideas treasury! I think Linda added this Beautiful Turquoise Necklace to her shop just for me! I love that it is simple and bold all at the same time!

Thank you ladies for featuring me this week :)

Treasury Thank You

I love opening my Activity Feed on Etsy to find I've been put in a treasury! It doesn't happen very often, so it makes each one even more special :) I would like to give a special thanks to three Etsians who have featured me this week:

Please stop by and give these treasuries some lovin'! And stop by the curators' shops as well :)

Personalized Wedding Gifts

Last weekend we attended the wedding of a friend and coworker. It was such a happen event and I wanted to give them a gift that they would cherish for years to come. Of course I wanted it to be personalized and I wanted to engrave it :)

I first thought of these Wine Bottle Stoppers:

These are great gifts even if the recipients don't drink wine. They can be added to a decorative bottle as well :)

(I just added these to my shop yesterday!!!)

I also wanted to give them something bigger that they could display on their wall. This Engraved Name Frame was perfect!

I hope to add these to my shop soon, but I want to get a frame that I like and can reorder when needed. This frame was from my personal stash :)

Personalized gifts are so personal and special! These will definitely be my go-to wedding gifts from now on...along with my Custom Coasters too!