Dice reliquaries from laser-cut hardwood ply.
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Purple Velvet Embossed Celtic Spirals Dice Bag
I made another dice bag with a new embossed velvet design. Some incremental improvements to the process for making the embossing plate: I switched to using 3M 468MP Adhesive Transfer Tape for the glue-up. It seems every bit as solid as the wood glue and, was a lot less hassle. More of the details are covered in the short update video below.
The kumihimo drawstring for this bag was done with glow floss for one of the colors and purple for the other. The glow from the floss is noticeable in the dark but, not especially bright.
By comparison, the 3D resin printed glow-in-the-dark skull beads are quite bright, especially after charging up with a UV lamp for 30 seconds or so. I used the Siraya Tech Craft resin for those.
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Hexagonal Box
This is a quick box I designed to package one of my little drawstring bags.
You can download the plain version below to make your own hexagonal box.
Hexagonal Box Pattern
This file is for personal, non-commercial use only. Note that, by referencing these, you are agreeing to release any variations you create under identical terms.
Adding Dimension to Laser-Cut Acrylic Earrings
I am seeing a lot of interesting laser-cut acrylic earrings in the forums and on social media right now. There is a range of interesting and intricate designs. They are, however, all quite flat. I wasn’t sure if people just hadn’t thought of heat-shaping them or, if there was some extra challenge in doing so. I have done some heat-shaping on other acrylic projects (like the VR Headset Wall Mount and the Paper Towel Roll Holder) and, thought I would give some simple heat dishing a go.
Long ago, my grandfather showed me how he was doing silver piercedwork jewelry and, I later did something similar with hand-cut paper earrings I was making. A wooden dishing or dapping block is great for this sort of thing.
If you are curious or, want to give it a try, I made a quick (3 minute) video showing how I produced these dished/domed acrylic spiral earrings and skull earrings (it is October, after all).
TL;DW (too long; didn’t watch): heat gun on low, moving constantly with the center over the outer edge (to avoid overheating the center), about an inch away, for 30-40 seconds. When the acrylic starts to droop, apply pressure to hold in the desired shape. Then, allow to cool for about 40-60 seconds to re-solidify.
Drawstring Bag of Many Projects
I have a fair amount of custom-embossed Celtic key pattern velvet left from the pillow project. I was thinking some of it might make a cool drawstring bag. I may have gotten a little carried away with the details:
- Silk-lined round-bottom bag
- A new Celtic knotwork ring design for a laser-engraved faux-leather bottom
- Kumihimo braided drawstring
- Customized skull beads
- Second set of skull beads from scratch
There is a separate post with the design files for the floss separator I made for this, in case it is of use to anyone else.
It was a lot of fun and, I’m happy with the result. Of course, I shot video of every step of the construction of both versions of the bag.
Viking Longship Design on Hardcover Notebooks
Celtic Key Pattern Embossed Velvet
With a new couch on the way last year, I came up with a plan to create some unique thematic throw pillows to go on it. In addition to one made from a fine wool Crawford clan tartan, I envisioned one of a forest green velvet embossed with one of my key pattern designs.
I figured that some combination of heat, pressure and a rigid die/stamp/form would give me what I wanted. I tracked down some (100% polyester upholstery) velvet, ordered samples and, made a test form on the laser from 1/8″ thick MDF. I cut a key square and, experimented using my old heat press.
After some experimenting (on purple velvet, while waiting on the green), I was able to find an approach that works. I set the pressure on the heat press by putting in a single sheet of 1/8″ MDF, tightening down until it touched the board, then adding another quarter turn. The range of pressure that works is pretty narrow. Too little pressure and the resulting design is faint. Too much pressure and, you emboss the edges of the form’s base, too.
The form goes on the bottom platen, facing up. The velvet goes on the form, facing down. I mist the back of the velvet lightly with a little water so there will be a little steam (but not enough to spot the fabric).
The optimal heat seems to be about 400º F for about 15 seconds.
I broke out my vintage Elna Supermatic sewing machine and, turned some of it into a pillow. I did several extra pieces. So, look for it in future projects.
There is a full video walk-through of making the forms and the embossing and, a separate video showing off the sewing machine and making the pillow.
Celtic Knotwork Journal
These journal covers are engraved with my Snowflake Celtic knotwork design (and a new corner piece I designed specifically for these). These are laser-cut and engraved, then saddle stitched by hand (using the stitching pony I made recently). These are made from a synthetic/vegan leather that looks and feel impressively like real leather. I personalized a few of them. These slip onto the Baron Fig Vanguard notebooks, which can be easily swapped as notebooks are filled.
I also made some packaging for them. The Ice Gold cover stock laser engraves in a nice metallic gold for the design and ambigram logo.
Small Inlaid Celtic Key Pattern Box
I did another small maple and cherry box inlaid with the same Celtic key pattern as the long box I posted recently. For this one, I designed the box body parametrically, entirely in Fusion 360. I can put in the material thickness or, even, alter the dimensions of the box and, everything will adjust automatically. The lid on this one is just friction-fit (no magnets) and, I did not flock the interior. 12-sided die (D12) for scale.
Celtic Key Pattern Inlaid Long Box
Celtic key pattern long box of hard maple inlaid with walnut and flocked interior. I think my second foray into laser-cut wood inlay went pretty well. This is probably not an optimal dice vault but, it looks good with these turquoise gemstone dice. I’ll likely do a proper dice vault in the future. the build video is more of a “what I did” than a “how to.” The beauty shots were a great opportunity to play with the new motion control robot.
