X Marks the Spot

Simplistic in design and a cinch to make with a pre-release Glowforge and my old standby favorite, embossing powder, these little pins harken to buried pirate treasure, your location in a shopping mall…or souvenirs for sale in a park gift shop.

These are one more little fun thing I’m making for guests during our family get-together in July. I will admit, it’s for selfish reasons……because I can, because it’s really fun, and last but not least……becauseI want to show off a little (or maybe a lot). I’ve got a freaking laser!

Several family members will be traveling from New Mexico and Colorado….and friends of friends from Texas, so these are mostly for them, and not so much for our local family, though everyone will receive one. (Maybe I can initiate another Glowforge sale!) This was a good way to use up those last corners and tight spots on my piece of PG before relegating it to the trash.

(pardon the lighting in the photos…it was all over the place with reflections)

I first peeled the masking off the PG maple ply only from the ‘X’ in the center, then used embossing powder on each one before removing the remainder of the masking.

Got a screen shot of our location from Google maps and printed it out on glossy paper, then glued it inside of the printed cards.

Glued a little tack pin on the back of each one and pinned it through the red location marker on the map.

The text and notecard format were used in Print Shop.

Never be lost again….except maybe in your own mind….and have the peace of mind that you’ll always know where you are.

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Wow, so ingenious way to invite friends! :smiley:

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Creative!!!

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Love squeezing every last bit from the materials!

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@Xabbess , did you use the laser to heat the embossing powder?

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Those look great, the red really pops!

In some of the embossing powder pics you’ve posted it looks like the powder “puffs up” to give a cool looking 3D effect. Do they all do that, or do some of them lie flat? The red looks pretty flat, and I like it.

(Of course, “embossing” implies the 3D effect, but I was wondering if this is an example of a product that has evolved beyond its original name.)

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Very cute! The embossing powder looks like a glossy enamel–love the look.

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Love it! That red powder really pops it…I’m going to have to get some embossing ink soon! :smiley::+1:

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No…not that daring. I just lined them all up on a silicone mat and did them with a heat gun.

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Yes, the red seems pretty flat, but I know what you mean. Not really sure why some look different than others.

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@Xabbess – Just reviewing your beautiful embossing-powder projects and have a question: for the Xs, did you engrave the “body” of the X or just score the edges? In other words, was the adhesive applied to an engraved area or on top of the finished ply? Thanks!

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Ha ha! It’ been so long ago now, I’lll have to think! I engraved the X then put the adhesive in the engraving before removing the masking. Adding it on to the finished ply probably would have done just as well.