When she heard that she was about to welcome a godson into the world, sculptor and blogger Anne Sandilands knew that she had to make something special for him.
Professionally, Anne makes jewelry using a laser cutter, which can etch fine, delicate lines into a material's surface for a beautiful design. Many of her designs are inspired by nature and (not always very nice) language.
But for her godson, Hector, she knew she needed to make something really special.
And there's really no better way to make a statement as to how special someone is to you than with a personalized gift, like beautifully, but totally DIY, etched glass.
And since Anne is a professional when it comes to crafting, she went above and beyond.
She decided to make a set of alphabet blocks for Hector. But naturally, she put her own spin on the childhood classic, something that Hector won't figure out for some time!
[H/T: Reddit]
Anne started out by purchasing some blank wooden blocks from the craft store. "I'd love to say I made these out of a tree I had lying around, but I didn't," she admits.
But that just goes to show you that a great DIY can have a little help!
Anne also has something most DIY-ers don't: a laser cutter! She uses this tool to create her jewelry, and she uses a software program to compile the information.
This is one of the earlier versions of the blocks' layout. She found various fonts and images for each side of each block and arranged them.
If you look carefully, you may see some of the hidden messages. Others are less obvious. But they're there!
Anne says the process of etching the blocks was so engrossing that she forgot to take photos! But that's okay.
Here are the blocks fresh out of the cutter. You can see how the laser has burned the designs right into the wood.
The laser cutter leaves some debris on the surface, so some scrubbing was in order.
And then, of course, they had to dry.
When arranged correctly, the blocks show the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, and months of the year.
Of course, no DIY is without its quirks. While laying out the design, the words "Mummy" and "Daddy" were accidentally laid out backward! "Hopefully, he'll work it out," she jokes.
The same thing happened with the months and days of the week. Notice the little weather symbols on the month blocks!
The days of the week came out backward. This is because planning for a three-dimensional object in only two dimensions gets really tricky! But it's okay. They're still gorgeous.
The animal drawings are some of Anne's own drawings, so Hector can appreciate her artwork, too!
But the important part did work! When the tag font sides are face-up and spell out Hector's first and last names, the sides facing out, at this angle, spell out Hector's full name, middle names included.
He's got quite a long name, so Anne just showed a portion of it in this photo.
And on the other side, a special message appears: "With love from your godmother," complete with a heart and the date of Hector's christening.
"His parents were so impressed, they politely overlooked the whole 'ymmum' and 'yddad' thing," Anne says, referring to her earlier mistake. But who knows? Maybe Hector will coin new nicknames for his parents.
And of course, custom blocks need a custom box. So Anne ran the lid through her laser cutter, too.
The blocks could be loaded in and stored, and after some careful sanding, everything was complete!
"I'm super-excited to have a wee godson, can't wait til he's old enough to play with these, but for now I'm happy to just have him slobbering on them," Anne says.
You can see more of Anne's work on her website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
And be sure to SHARE this beautiful, clever DIY with anyone who loves a good handmade gift!
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