Project Ideas!

Here's a super fun gift idea or gag gift. If you know someone with a mustache then they probably could use one of these or would at least appreciate the sentiment. Let's get started!MATERIALS: Vector Editor: Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw or Inkscape, etc. Outfab.com supplied 1/8" Baltic Birch Wood or 1/8" acrylic DESIGN:The mustache is a simple shape so feel free to freestyle and sketch this one out. You can scan your sketch and import the image into your vector editor. From this point you can either trace your sketch with the pen tool or convert the image to a bitmap, autotrace...

I love baking and we love making so this project is a win-win. One of my favorite things to bake is digestive biscuits occasionally dipped in dark chocolate. While the biscuits taste great the only thing missing is the quintessential English digestive biscuit stamp, "DIGESTIVE" on the cookie. I crave authenticity so this cookie stamp is a must and I decided to try my hand at making a traditional English digestive biscuit cookie stamp. I also decided to make a standard pig cookie cutter for good measure. Why a pig shape? Gingerbread pigs are a HUGE childhood favorite of mine and...

Remember Spirograph? The fun, oddly satisfying, geometric drawing set you or a friend may have had growing up. I didn't have one as a kid, but I always wanted one. I thought summer would be a great opportunity to tap into my inner kid and make a set. When you figure out the vectors, you can have us cut this in a single 6"x 12" unit in clear acrylic for $30 or try a cool neon transparent acrylic like the transparent neon green that I used for this project.     I'm not including a downloadable .PDF, because we don't like...

This is an easy introduction to making leather goods. We carry 1/16" vegetable tanned leather and we will use it for this project. We carry size 6" x 12" up to 24" x 24" leather scraps. You can add a button snap, but we are just going to simply glue this envelope together for a quick demonstration. Follow along to make your own wallet to stash your cash, credit cards, business cards or whatever need at the ready.  To complete this project you will need: a vector editor such as InkScape, Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW button snap or glue or thread...

Custom cupcake toppers are a fun way to personalize baked goods. One of my favorite movies is An American Werewolf in London and I always wanted a werewolf-themed birthday party as a kid. BUT you're not going to find werewolf-themed party supplies in January unless you saved them from Halloween OR you just design and laser cut them yourself to get every last painstaking detail right. Typical Capricorn! Never in a million years would you find these cupcake toppers in a store. For this project I scoured the internet for specific scene photos of An American Werewolf in London. Of course I wanted...

This tutorial will explain how you can take an original hand drawing and compose an editable vector. We will then take that vector graphic and design a stencil that we will then laser cut from 7.5" mylar. Simple enough right?STEP 1: ORIGINAL DRAWING I wanted to make a stencil for my work apron based on my favorite comic book heroine. Black and white works best for this "vectorizing" process. This sketch is very raw, but once I import the scanned drawing into a vector editor (CorelDRAW, Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape) I can refine the base vector by removing extra nodes and...

We live in a wireless world, but until they make a wireless toaster, we're still going to be stuck with a few cords here and there. We tend to design projects on a completely selfish basis. I desperately needed a cord wrapper for my headphones to prevent the cord from splitting.You can fully customize these cord wrappers to your liking. We suggest etching your company's name or logo or you can personalize each cord wrapper with the recipients' name, nickname or initials and give them away as gifts. You can even add an original drawing.The possibilities are endless. Go to...

Do you have business cards or business punch cards that need a home so they don't get bent or lost? You only have three more punches to go before you get that free latte.Here's a DIY project for you. We made this business card holder from 1/8" Baltic birch. This project uses about 12" x 2.5" of material for one business card holder. A square foot can fit 5 sets of business card holders or if you just want one holder, you can add other designs that will fit the remaining square foot with a .2" margin. Let's get started!Step 1:...

Business cards say a lot about a person and what they do. Why not design your own custom laser cut business card to set yourself apart from others in your field and show some personality? All you need is a vector of your company logo or personal logo, $34 bucks (for a sq. ft of Baltic birch) and some design time to let your creativity flow.  Mr. Vandelay's business card. Business card was laser cut from 1/8" Baltic birch wood. Please do not attempt to contact Mr. Vandelay. "Believe it or not, he's not home!" Forget uneditable templates! The possibilities...

New to designing vectors for laser cutting? This is a great starter project to get the hang of vector design. Design your own custom wood herb stakes for your herb garden, flower bed, yard or anywhere else you could use a stake to remember which species is growing where. You can use the same base for the herb garden stakes, choose your favorite font (remember to convert to curves or outlines!) and add a vectorized image if you like. Pretty simple and useful project.  The herb garden stakes you see in this post were laser cut from 1/8" Baltic birch...

Ever wondered how to make those cool laser cut name plate necklaces everyone seems to be wearing? It is actually quite easy! You must have some knowledge of graphic design. If there is a term you don't know, just google it and you will find many other tutorials on what that function does or what it's called in your program. You need the following supplies:Craft GluePliersJumpringsChainVector graphics program such as Inkscape, CorelDRAW, or Illustrator. Inkscape is free at www.Inkscape.org and a great starter program for anyone new to designing for laser cutting. Step 1: In your vector graphics program, choose a font....

Finger-jointing is a pretty cool method of constructing 3D projects from 2D laser cut pieces. It can be tricky, but rewarding! The most important thing to keep in mind is that when the laser cuts through the material, it removes some of the material. This is called the kerf. The easiest way to do this is to create a contour around your pieces when finished so you get a very snug fit. Some people like to screw parts together so they can be taken apart later. Others prefer the pieces to hold together without the use of nails or glue....

At Outfab, we consider custom laser cut parts for jewelry designers our specialty. We know what it's like to be starting out, not sure what to include for a new collection, inspired yet overwhelmed by possibilities. That's why we offer units as small as 12"x6", enough to make a small amount of inventory. We also encourage designers to try many different pieces on their unit sizes so they can experiment with new designs and prototypes.  Pearl Acrylic These black pearl acrylic parts will be used for earring charms. Birch Wood Birch plywood in 1/8" thickness is great for rustic looking designs....