Customized and Personalized Home Decor and Gifts in State College, PA

Customized and Personalized Home Decor and Gifts in State…

by Dan Dombrowski

Nothing makes a house feel more like a home than handmade decor that has been customized and personalized just for you. I use the title of “woodworker” to describe myself and what I do, and every piece I make does start in the wood shop. But the truth is that I use a variety of materials and techniqueswhen it comes to creating unique decorative items including adhesive vinyl, pyrography (wood burning), and glass etching.

I’ve collected and sorted a selection of customized items I’ve produced over the years. Take a look and let me know what inspires you. Have an idea you don’t see below? I’m always looking to tackle a new project. Contact me today, and let’s start collaborating!

Adhesive Vinyl – Custom Decals on Beautiful Wooden Backdrops

Using a Silhouette Cameo craft cutter, I’m able to add beautiful, intricate designs and lettering to pieces quickly and precisely. If you can imagine it, I can almost certainly design it, cut it out, and add it to your custom woodworking project.

I work mainly with white vinyl because it provides a beautiful contrast against a variety of wood stain colors, but the material is available in all of the colors of the rainbow.

The adhesive vinyl is fairly permanent on its own, especially for decorative items that won’t be handled frequently, but I step up the durability of my pieces by sealing all vinyl between multiple layers of polyurethane. The final piece has a uniform sheen that is beautiful and durable.

Here’s a few examples of the pieces I’ve produced using adhesive vinyl.

Scrabble Wall Family Name Decor — Scrabble Wall Display w/ Family Names: I created this wall display for our house using the classic Scrabble game as inspiration. The adhesive vinyl letters and numbers can be customized to any font or color to match your tastes and home. Kiddos’ names blurred for privacy.

Yardzee Wedding Gift — Yardzee! Dice Wedding Gift: I dressed up a set of Yardzee! dice with our friends’ names and their wedding date in adhesive vinyl to create a unique gift for their wedding.

Handmade Puck Attack (Pucket) Games — Puck Attack! (Pucket) Games: I made a batch of these addictive puck shooting games for friends and family for Christmas one year. The adhesive vinyl words and accents add a special touch and could be customized further with a family name or special message.

Romantic Adhesive Coordinates Sign — Romantic Coordinates Sign: I dressed up a simple slab of pine with three sets of adhesive vinyl coordinates of locations significant to my wife and I. Second coordinate blurred for privacy.

Wooden Teeter-Totter with Adhesive Vincyl Accent — Wooden Teeter-Totter: Adhesive vinyl doesn’t always have to be the center of attention. I used it as an accent on this wooden seesaw to add a bit of pop with a chevron pattern on the seats.

Wood and Metal Sign with Adhesive Vinyl Lettering — Framed Metal Sign with Adhesive Vinyl Lettering: Vinyl sticks to more than just wood! Who knew? I made this sign out of a sheet of “tin” (it’s actually aluminum with a faux finish) framed with pine stained wenge brown.

33rd Street Woodworks custom sign adhesive vinyl — Custom Business Sign: I made this sign for myself for a craft show table both to promote my brand and to show off how great a custom sign with adhesive vinyl on wood can look! Indoor use only.

Woodburning / Pyrography – Rustic Accents Complement the Natural Beauty of Wood

Pyrography (a.k.a. woodburning) is an art form on its own, and while I don’t claim to be a true master of the medium, I can incorporate the technique in wooden items for a rustic decorative touch.

To produce precise designs and lettering, I first print a copy on regular paper and transfer it to the wood using carbon tracing paper and then burn the tracing into the wood.

Check out a few examples below:

Poplar Wine Bottle Display with Wood Burning Pyrography Lettering — Poplar Balancing Wine Display: My wife and I collaborated on this gift for her father. I built the balancing wine display board. She did the whimsical pyrography lettering.

Wood Burned (Pyrography) Monogrammed Cornhole Board Set — Monogrammed Cornhole Boards: This was definitely the largest pyrography project I’ve ever completed. I like to add a little something special to a project as common as cornhole boards, and I think I succeeded with these hand-burned monograms as well as by making the set ultra-portable with handles and latches.

Plant Boxes with Wood Burned (Pyrography) Decoration — Flower Boxes with Pyrography Decoration: These boxes are designed to hold a 5-inch potted plant or a tall vase. The pyrography flowers on the front of each add the perfect touch of rustic charm.

Pyrography Bee First Birthday Cupcake Display — Stacking Hexagon Cupcake Display with Pyrography Bee: This stacking honeycomb cupcake display was already adorable. The addition of hand-burned bees to the inside of the hexagons with bottoms put it over the top.

Celtic Cross Pyrography Plaque — Pyrography Celtic Cross on a Pine Plaque: I created this custom plaque by gluing strips of pine together with perpendicular grain directions and then burned the Celtic cross knot design for a unique and beautiful gift.

Glass Etching – Combining Wood and Glass to Make Unique Gifts

Glass etching is achieved using a special acidic cream that dissolves the top layer of glass, leaving behind a cloudy, permanent impression that diffuses light. Using adhesive vinyl stencils, any shape as well as intricate lettering can be achieved.

The one downside is that, as beautiful as the finished product is, it doesn’t photograph well! I only have one example to share right now, but I’ll add more as I create them and get some quality photo

Etched Glass Christmas Llama Sign: I created this whimsical Christmas sign by etching a design into a pane of glass, adding a few adhesive vinyl snowflakes to the back, and framing the entire thing in pine with a stand. This would look perfect on a mantle or a side table during the holiday season.

Ready to design your own customized decorative items?

Inspired yet? Hopefully the images above gave you some idea of what I can make. I’d love to collaborate with you to create a personalized piece for your home or special event. Contact me to get started today!

Project Spotlight: American Flag Cornhole Boards