Laser Fun With Paper

Picked up a ream of colored card stock a while back, with the intention of exploring the possibilities. “She” had a birthday that descended on me, so with two days left - it became trial by fire (I know, I know. Typical male).

With the ability of the glowforge, I was determined to craft a personalized birthday card and not spend another dime on the commercial offerings. It would be a seasonal theme…

With the deadline I didn’t have the luxury of time to draw up anything I could make myself happy with, So I turned to ‘Free Laser Designs’. Here, I bend the knee to @kittski, for her contribution.

Bare Trees

So I cleared some branches and got busy.

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Experimenting with etching the paper, I discovered the darker colors give a better bleaching for contrast.
I will spare you all the sentimental/personal verse on the inside cover, and I’m not all that pleased with the color choices, but for my first birthday card, I’m happy with the effort - and appreciative of the lessons that came with it.
The days of elbowing my way into the hoards of men in the greeting card isle with the ‘Deer in the Headlights look’ on their faces are over. She was thrilled, which is all that matters.

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WOW! That’s gorgeous. I’ll bet she was thrilled–what a labor-intensive, touching tribute. She must be worth it.:grinning:

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So, so nice.

Oh man, stuff like this makes me so impatient to get a glowforge of my very own.

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Oh, she is. Thank you Morgan!

@erin, Thank you! Just my perspective, but it was worth every penny and every minute of the wait over the last two years.
Thank you Glowforge! :sunglasses:

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Typical male? You had two whole days. I would’ve been trying to come up with something an hour beforehand.

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Oh, by the way… nice work :slight_smile:

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Hahaha, but since it involved creativity, I needed time to turn that on. (look at the paper, look at the laser. Look at the paper… :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Chuckle! If my husband hand-crafted a birthday card for me, I’d burst into tears before fainting. :smile:

Great job! :wink:

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Thank you all! t’s pretty lame compared to some of the pros here, but that’s OK. They didn’t know how either until the first time.
Everything ‘Laser’ is new to me, so it’s like Disney Land for an adult.

I had a better idea, that involved a mechanical card that when opened would pull open a little ‘hopper’ and dump a bunch of leaves in her lap, but didn’t have time to do that effectively.

On a side note, anybody need a baggie of paper leaves? :rofl:

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Oh, it’s absolutely perfect! I love the multicolored leaves.

Did the adhesive question get settled okay?

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Yes, Thank You!
I had a bunch of experiments and lessons on ’ why you don’t do it that way’, but with that and your help, Pappy did good. :sunglasses:

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In the before time, I used to pass by her work on the way home. I would stop and buy a single rose and bring it to her at her desk. The receptionist would just smile at me as I by-passed her security and walked right in. I would stand there behind her chair until she noticed me. Jules, she would blush like a schoolgirl. I loved that!
Gentlemen, a little goes a long way. Just sayin’.

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Lucky girl! :blush:

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No, No. I assure you, the luck one is me. She’s the only reason I’m still alive. :wink:
She does appreciate we don’t need a plumber. Or an electrician, mechanic, toilet scrubber, laundry or scullery maid. :grin:

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She was thrilled, which is all that matters.

Happy wife, happy life.
No doubt she was thrilled, that is a beautiful card. Nice work!

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Thank you!
Yes! What an amazing what an impact that has on my existence.

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Ditto for me. I swear I wouldn’t have made it out of my thirties alive or with more than a dollar if it weren’t for my wife. :slightly_smiling_face: I tend to be a bit less than careful about safety sometimes and engaged in a variety of activities that aren’t necessarily dangerous per se but stack them all up and sooner or later the odds would not have played out in my favor. So now I only do one dangerous thing at a time :grinning:

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Beautiful job! Know she was thrilled! When someone takes the time to do something from their heart … it is extra special.

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Nicely done! Glad the sentiments and the creativity were appreciated!

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Not lame in any sense!! Its absolutely perfect. :grin: :heart::heart:

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