Baby Gifts - Engraved Necklaces and Frames - Michelle James Designs (2024)

These baby gifts – engraved necklaces and frames, are perfect for moms and grandmas. I used my xTool F1 laser engraver and they are perfect!

Welcome to our step-by-step guide on creating personalized treasures for the little ones in your life! If you’re on the hunt for the perfect baby gift that goes beyond the ordinary, look no further. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the process of crafting two delightful keepsakes: an engraved necklace and an engraved wood frame, all made possible with the innovative xTool F1 laser engraver.

Whether you’re celebrating the arrival of a newborn, showering a new mom with love, or delighting a proud grandma (or Gigi, Nana, or whatever endearing name she goes by), these custom creations are sure to leave a lasting impression. Imagine the joy on their faces as they unwrap a gift that’s not only beautifully crafted but also holds a special message or name, etched with precision by the power of laser technology.

From selecting the perfect materials to mastering the art of laser engraving, we’ll guide you through each step, ensuring your gifts are not only stunning but also infused with sentiment. Let’s dive in and create something truly magical for those cherished little bundles of joy!

Baby Gifts – Engraved Necklace

I am going to show you two gifts today but we will start with my favorite…the engraved necklaces. You will not believe how easy and quick these are to make with the xTool F1 laser cutter/engraver.

I have added some affiliate links for your convenience. You can see my full disclosure here.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1 – Create the Text for Engraving

I waited until after the baby was born for these gifts. I was making one for my friend who is the Grandma but asked mom if she would like one too. She said she would so I made two. They were so fun.

Since I knew the baby’s name I used it and engraved the bottom portion of a round stainless steel charm. Open the XCS (xTool Creative Space) software program.

Once open choose text on the left side of the screen.

Type in your text and choose your font. From the photo below, under “text” on the right side of the screen, you can see that Elnora May is the name I needed and I chose Rainbow Serif as my font.

I have a lot of fonts on my computer and there are some in the programs as well. If I purchased this font it would be from Creative Fabrica. That is where I download all of my fonts.

When you type in the text it is in a straight line but I wanted it to curve with the round necklace. When you clikc on your text box there is a little button to the side. You can click and hold down the mouse button and it allows you to curve the text.

My necklace is pretty small so I curved it quite a bit. I was happy with this.

Step 2 – Framing and Engraving

Once you have your settings ready you are ready to frame the piece to make sure it will engrave in the right spot on your project.

I found out recently that there are two ways to set the framing. I will show you one way with this necklace and the other way on the wood frame.

The way to choose these options in the XCS program is on the right lower corner of the screen. You will see three dots next to the framing button. When you click on the dots an option box pops up. There you can choose the light power and you can choose Rect or Outline.

For these necklaces I chose outline. It is hard to take a photo of the outline because it moves around so I created a short video. It looks so big on my screen but you can definitely see where the text will engrave. This is so helpful.

If you are happy with this then you can hit process and start your engraving.

This is how this charm came out. It is so nice.

I polished it a little with the cleaning cloth that I got with the machine and it was ready to go.

Step 3: Finishing Up!

Once the engraving was done all I had to do was add some embellishments and a chain and call it good!

I could spend hours looking in the charms area in Michaels, Hobby Lobby or on Amazon. There are so many fun things you can add to these. I chose a heart for mom and a cross for grandma. Then I wanted something in between so I just picked a smaller circle so the heart and the cross would stand out a little more.

I love the way they turned out and I am excited to see if they like them too.

What do you think?

Baby Gifts – Wood Frame

I saw this wood frame shaped like a house at the Dollar Tree one day and grabbed a couple of them later. This is the perfect use for it.

Supplies Needed:

Step 1: Create the Text for Engraving

For this frame I used two fonts. When I found out mom was pregnant I engraved the top part of the frame. And then when Elnora was born I did the bottom line with her name and birthdate.

You guys there was a lot of months in between there and I did not write down the font I used at the top of the frame. I have been searching for it. I am still searching for the exact one but I found two that I have that are very similar. The first one is Sugary Unicorn and the second is Best Homework. Both are from Creative Fabrica.

For the bottom part with her name and birthdate I used Butter and Garlic. Again, from Creative Fabrica. If you guys love to design and collect fonts and graphics like I do you need Creative Fabrica. You can use my affiliate link to join and get a free trial. It is THE BEST! I think it only costs $3.99 per month but the pay annually. It used to be a lot more than that. It is so worth the money.

Both of these parts of the frame are basically the same so I am going to show you the bottom part in these photos.

Type out what you want it to say.

If you are using a script font you will want to click the “weld” button. It is under the font name, size etc in the text box. Once you click it the lines between the letters will go away and it will show as one word instead of individual letters.

Then you will want to size it to fit your project. You can unlock the sizing at the top of the screen and type in the measurements. I also wanted this to engrave so I chose the engrave setting on the right side. It changes the font to a solid. This is how it will engrave in the wood.

The settings I used are: Blue Light Power: 60, Speed: 100, Pass: 1. None of these photos show these settings so I must have changed them after. Sorry about that!

There was one more thing I had to do before I could hit the process button.

My frame was too long for the F1. You can see below that the bottom of the frame where I needed to engrave was outside of the working area. So I needed to turn it around.

That meant that the frame would be upside down which means the text also needed to be upside down. So I flipped it over. To do this you can use rotate at the top of the screen on the right.

Step 2: Framing and Engraving

This time for the framing we need to choose the “rect” option. This is how it looks so you can place your text just right. I was able to center it on the bottom part of the wood.

Now we are ready to press process.

Click the process button and hit the start button on the machine. Then sit back and watch it go.

Step 3: Finishing Up!

All I did was glue a mini clothes pin onto the frame and added a photo of the new baby. It was so easy and so custom. People love personalized gifts and this one is just perfect.

What do you think of the frame?

If you are on the look out for a laser cutter/engraver this really is a great choice. It was easy to set up out of the box and I have made some great projects so far. In fact, after I had this one I needed a bigger one and bought that one.

They both have their pros and cons but I do love the small size of the F1.

If you have questions about the machine or the engraved necklaces and frames please ask in the comments below. I would love to answer any questions you have.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Michelle