I created this contribution to “Free Laser Designs” for two reasons: 1) as a thank you to the members of this forum, from whom I’ve learned so much over the past 11 months. You are warm, lovely, good-hearted people, who also happen to be incredibly talented. And 2) as a way to tell you a little of my Glowforge story, should you care to read on. Otherwise, feel free to skip to the design at the end of the post.
I purchased a Glowforge because I needed a creative outlet the other 11 months of the year. You see, my primary artistic medium is pumpkin. I love carving pumpkins. My dad was a farmer, and we raised pumpkins. Any pumpkins that hadn’t sold by Halloween (which also happens to be my birthday—another contributing factor to the pumpkin obsession, no doubt), our family carved. Sometime we had several dozen jack-o’-lanterns on our porch as the trick-or-treaters came around.
I grew up, but I didn’t outgrow pumpkin carving. My dad continued to enable my addiction by raising arguable the best pumpkins in the region, which he delivered by the truckload to my new home three counties away. My kids put up a pumpkin stand to earn a little cash, but I saved the best pumpkins for myself. And I designed ever more elaborate plans for our pumpkin displays.
My dad retired from farming a few years ago, but we found a friendly farmer nearby who grows my favorite pumpkin variety and lets me have first pick. My kids are now grown (we became empty-nesters this fall), but they return each Halloween to carve pumpkins. Friends and family members come to help, and even my husband carves a few. (His favorite part of the process is contributing the decaying pumpkins to the community compost heap.) We generally display between 50 and 70 pumpkins in front of our house each year.
This brings me to the Glowforge. The year 2020 found me, as it did so many, in need of a distraction. I craved a creative outlet, but pumpkin carving was months away. I had been interested in the Glowforge since its initial crowdfunding efforts, but I hadn’t been able to justify the cost since it would be a hobby for me, not a money-making endeavor. In 2020, my creative needs won out, and I have found to my delight that the Glowforge scratches the pumpkin-carving itch.
And that is the story behind my pumpkin-themed thank you.
This design has four layers, plus an optional solid back layer. The design allows two layers to be printed at once. My test cut was on cardboard, but I believe it will also work well on wood.
My daughter painted the cardboard with acrylic paint.
Again, thank you for making this such a nurturing community. It has made a difference in my life.