Pumpkin Napkin Rings with Glowforge Aura

Learn How to Make Pumpkin Napkin Rings & Wine Glass Charms with the Glowforge Aura™ with this Step-By-Step Tutorial and Free SVG File!

I am so excited to host a Friendsgiving celebration this year! To add a special touch, I added these cute wooden pumpkin napkin rings, made using my Glowforge Aura™.

This is a sponsored post written in partnership with Glowforge®. Glowforge provided me with this machine in order to review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Learn more about the Glowforge Aura here!

These pumpkin napkin rings are perfect for a touch of personalization and make your guests feel extra special. Just look at how adorable and elegant these are! I'm also sharing how to make wine charms towards the end of this blog post! 😍

I used Glowforge Proofgrade® Light Basswood Plywood to make these napkin rings, but you can use a different light material. I recommend using Proofgrade materials with your Glowforge Aura. 

Why Use Proofgrade Materials?

Glowforge offers laser-compatible Proofgrade materials that measure 12" x 12" for high-quality results.

The Proofgrade materials have a useful QR code on the front of the material that the machine reads and automatically adjusts its settings for perfect results.

Glowforge Proofgrade materials are also covered in protective masking that can be taken off once the machine is done printing, so your projects are clean and burnt-mark free!

Find out more about Proofgrade materials here.

Let’s go over the supplies needed to make these napkin rings.

Supplies Needed

• Glowforge Aura
• 12” x 12” Proofgrade Light Basswood Plywood or any Light Proofgrade Material
• Ribbon
• Napkins
• Sand Paper

Optional

• Windex Wipes
• Weeder Tool
• Acrylic Paint or Spray Paint
• Rhinestones 
• Duct Tape

What does the SVG Include? 

This SVG file includes 5 pumpkin napkin ring designs to choose from- 1 Grateful, 1 Thankful, and 3 other pumpkin napkin ring blanks.

If you don’t have a Glowforge Aura, this SVG file is also compatible with Cricut machines. 

Download the FREE Pumpkin Napkin Ring SVG files here!

Uploading to Glowforge 

The first step is to upload the SVG file to the Glowforge app. Head over to app.glowforge.com after downloading the SVG file. Sign in and click Create a New Design, select Upload a File from the dropdown menu, and upload the SVG file. 

To start, place the material you intend to use into the Glowforge Aura machine. Then, position the design in any available space on your screen. 

Simply, close the lid of the Aura. The machine will automatically read the QR code sticker on the Proofgrade material and identify the material you are using.

Now, change the layer type from Engrave to Cut. 

You can add names to the pumpkins if you want. If you only want to engrave a name, use the ones without an opening in the middle If you want to combine a name with one of the other pumpkins, I'll explain how to do that below!

How to Engrave Names onto the Pumpkins

To do this, select the text tool and type whatever you want in the “Your Text Here” box. Then, change the font and size, drag it onto the pumpkin piece, and change the layer type to Engrave. 

How to Combine Text with One of the Pumpkin Designs

If you want to include a name on one of the pumpkin designs that has an open space in the middle, you will need to merge it with the design.

Unfortunately, this cannot be done in the Glowforge App. To achieve this, you will need to import the SVG file into a design program of your choice such as Illustrator or Inkscape.

I will guide you through uploading the design to Illustrator.

Create Text Layer

• 1. Open Illustrator and open the SVG file by going to File->Open in the menu bar above Illustrator. 

• 2. Once the pumpkins are in your workspace, select the pumpkins you don’t want with your Selection tool (V) while holding down shift to select multiple and press delete on your keyboard. 

• 3. Next, in the Layers window (if you can't see your layers panel, go to Windows->Layers), click Create a New Layer at the bottom of the layers panel. This layer is going to be our text layer. 

• 4. Select the T for Type Tool in the toolbar to the left of your artboard and type a name or word. Change the font and size of your text in the window below your text or the Character panel above the artboard. I chose the font Semibold SignPainter.

Tip: When choosing a font for cutting, it's important to select a thick font to avoid breakage or difficulty cutting.

Turn Text into an Object

• 5. With the Selection tool, drag the text over to the pumpkin design and place it in the middle. 

• 6. Click and drag one of the handles on the white bounding box of the text to fit onto the pumpkin, and make sure some of the text is overlapping parts of the pumpkin- you will find out why soon. 

• 7. Once you’re happy with the placement of the text, click on Type in the menu bar above Illustrator and select Create Outlines. This will convert your text into an object. 

• 8. Select your text or now object, and click Unite in the Pathfinder panel (Window->Pathfinder).

Unite Design

• 9. Then, click and drag to select both the pumpkin design and your text object, and click Unite once again in the Pathfinder window. You can change the color of the fill or just leave it as a stroke. 

I like to zoom in and use the Direct Selection Tool (A) to delete unwanted nodes. Click on the unwanted nodes and just keep pressing delete on your keyboard until it's gone.

• 10. If you have an "i" in the word you used, you need to combine the dot of the i with the rest of the design. To do this, Ungroup (Cmd->Shift->G) the pumpkin design.

• 11. With the Selection Tool, select the dot of the “i” to move it to a place where it will overlap a part of the design. Select everything, and click Unite in Pathfinder. 

Make Compound Path

• 12. Finally, select the object and make it a compound path by going to Object->Compound Path->Make or keyboard shortcut Cmd-> 8. Doing this will group the paths of the object. 

Save as SVG

• Repeat these steps if you want to make more pumpkins with names. 
• 13. Once finished, go to File->Save As, name it, change the Format to SVG, and click Save. Yay! Now upload your Pumpkin Napkin Ring Design to the Glowforge app.

Cutting Pumpkin Napkin Rings

After uploading the design to the Glowforge app and the material has been placed inside the Glowforge Aura, you can start cutting!

Click Print in the upper right corner of your screen. 

It may take a couple of minutes, but wait until the Glowforge Aura light flashes blue. Press the flashing button, and let the machine do the work. 

When done cutting, wait a few minutes for the fumes to go down. Open the lid when the fans of the Glowforge unit fans turn off.

Glowforge Personal Filter

**I have attached my Glowforge Aura to a Glowforge Personal FilterTM. If you do not have a Personal Filter, make sure to exhaust outside. Before doing so, please check your local regulations regarding air quality and always double-check the exhaust setup to prevent fumes and smoke from escaping. To learn how to set up the Glowforge Aura, click here.**

Remove the now-cut material from the machine.

Assembling Napkin Rings

Remove the cut pieces from the material and remove the masking. 

Pro Tip: Stick duct tape onto the cut piece and gently pull the masking away from the cut piece. 

Pro Tip: Use a Windex Wipe or or other cleaning wipe to remove the burn marks.

The stem of the pumpkin is pretty detailed, so I like to take a weeder tool to remove small cuts from the pumpkin.

Next, sand down your pieces. You can paint them, add rhinestones, or just leave them as is. I think the unfinished wood is the perfect look for a fall tablescape!

Finally, grab your napkin and ribbon. Wrap the ribbon around the napkin, add one of the pumpkin napkin rings. Slide the ribbon through the loop slots, and tie the two ends together.

There you have it! An adorable yet elegant pumpkin napkin ring! 

Finished Pumpkin Napkin Ring

Download the Free Wine Charm SVG File Here!

How to Make Drink Charms

These wine charms are the cherry on top! They will bring a smile to the faces of all who come to your formal dinner party, casual get-together, or anything in between.

To make these, you first need to upload the SVG file by going to app.glowforge.com, logging in, clicking Create a New Design, and selecting Upload a File.

Upload the Wine Charm SVG file, and once it's been added to the Glowforge workspace, change the layer type from Engrave to Cut.

Adding Text

Next, let's add text. Click on the T in the bar above the workspace, and type in the text you want to add into the Your Text Here box. I'm using the Leckerli One font.

Then, change the file type to Engrave in the layers. Group the leaf and the text by selecting both, and pressing Cmd->G on your keyboard.

To make more, duplicate the leaf piece by hitting Cmd->C to copy and Cmd->V to paste. I duplicated my design four times and repeated the steps above.

Cut Out Wine Charms

When you're ready to cut, turn on your Glowforge unit, and let it connect until you see the Online in the top right corner.

Finally, click Print in the top right corner, place the material into the machine, close the lid, and wait for the blue flashing light on the Glowforge Aura.

When the blue light flashes, press it, and let the machine do all the cutting!

Once it has finished cutting, wait a few minutes for the fumes to go down and the fans to turn off. Take out the material, plop out the leaf pieces, and take off the masking.

Pro Tip: Use Windex Wipes to remove unwanted burn marks.

Finished Drink Charms

After sanding down the charms, you can paint them, decorate them, or just leave them as is.

Simply slip the charms onto the stem of your glass, and voila! You'll never have to worry about losing track of your drink at a party again.

I hope you have a lot of fun with this project, and a big thanks to Glowforge for sponsoring this blog post!

If you don’t want to forget about this tutorial, save it to your Pinterest here! 

Join my crafting and sewing Facebook group where you can show us what you’re making, ask questions, and learn from others! 

Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments below!