My wife always wanted to do arts and crafts. And late last year, she finally made her dream into reality by getting the necessary equipment to set up our small room into a crafting station. She started to accept commissions for various projects and slowly honed her skills. She also has a full-time job and only has time to do this mostly on the weekends. I also help her whenever I can and am learning the trade as well.

Tools of the Trade

Notebook Computer

This is the brain of the operation. Layouts, design plans, and even client communications are mostly done here.

Printer

Probably the most used and abused equipment among the bunch. Almost every project needs a print of some sort and having a continuous ink printer is very practical.

Cutting Plotter

If I were to describe this machine, it would be like the 3D printer of paper. It automatically cuts papers or stickers into whatever layout it is set to. This is also the most expensive equipment we have for a reason. Most of the projects we do are made possible thanks to this handy piece of art.

Glass Shoe Souvenir Labelling

This commission is requested by my wife's niece who is going to celebrate her 18th birthday in a few weeks. It's basically a glass shoe-shaped keychain and she wants to have her name labeled at the bottom.


First off, we needed to set up the design digitally while making sure that the client agreed to everything before moving to the next step.

I was suggesting a white or gold vinyl for the color of the label but we ended up with pink. Since the shoes have a light hue of pink, having a darker pink label compliments it nicely. Then it's off to the cutting plotter and this is where the magic happens. It's always fun to watch it in action and I can't believe that people nowadays can own one at home and not just the big businesses.


This next part is a bit tedious. Weeding is the process of removing unwanted parts from a design. It can take a long time especially if your project has intricate designs.


Finally, all that's left is to do is stick the labels into the souvenirs and add the rings of the keychain. Here's a timelapse video of the process:
https://youtube.com/shorts/V4PThvyWRvM?feature=share

That's it for now. Thank you for reading the article and I hope you guys enjoyed it.

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