Wedding Gift - Laser Cut Utensil Caddy

Many wedding registries contain lists of functional, but slightly uninspiring, homewares. But, the everyday utensils will get far more use than the wine decanters or the terrine moulds... just as the uninspiring days of a marriage will outnumber the special occasions. You will have a great many days where you get up, go to work, come home, cook, clean, then collapse in front of the TV or laptop for a few hours then bed. And you know what? That's a beautiful thing! A good marriage is what gets you through all those unexceptional days between the big events. This wedding gift celebrates that. Everyday utensils that celebrate the little things that, long after the cake has been eaten, make a marriage, day by day - caring, friendship, happiness and just a little romance ;-)

Utilising a shop-bought set, this gift does not require any special skills or ability, just a willingness to do a little work and access to the kind of tools you will find at a makerspace.

You will need:

• A wooden or bamboo utensil set
• Access to a computer or laptop
• Access to a laser cutter/engraver

Creating artwork is an icredibly daunting process if you are starting from scratch. Fortunately there are many free resources online that can help you create something special. I used a font from dafont.com and free clipart by Carla Chadwick to create artwork for the caddy. Credit where credit is due!

Arranging type was simple enough but to make the clipart suitable for the laser I needed to turn it into a vector. To do this I opened it in Adobe Illustrator and used the live trace function. I could then export the vector to LaserCut and create my artwork. Once done, the artwork was sent to the laser and the real fun began!

The caddy was engraved first. Bamboo smells lovely when it is being engraved! Because the caddy is quite large, the bed of the laser had to be lowered to accommodate it. I was pleased by how beautifully the scrolls engraved.

Next, the utensils are engraved. Each is indivudually engraved as the laser has to be positioned, focussed and set each time.

Individually, these would make cute gifts. But together, they become something special - the caddy celebrates the marriage, and each utensil celebrates an essential part of a happy life together. I hope you like this project and that it inspires you to create a beautiful gift for a happy couple!