You might be looking at an item on our site marked as handmade and wondering…did they really make this?

Here’s what we mean when we give something the “handmade” attribute:

We use the same criteria as Etsy generally accepts. That is our handmade item may be a non-handmade base product that we’ve embellished in our studio. It may be a sublimation base onto which we’ve put our own design or photo. Or it may be something we’ve crafted entirely from raw materials. Or it may be a digital or machine embroidery file that we’ve designed…not a physical product at all, but, still, something that we made ourselves.

We do not put the handmade tag on our enamel pins. Even though we’ve designed those, enamel pins are not something you can safely make in a home studio. We’re still working on adding attributes to all of our products at this point, so some handmade items may not yet be marked as such.

All of our cookie cutters are “handmade” items. Or, rather, they are made in our home studio on a 3D printer. We use PLA made of food-grade materials for most of our cookie cutters (actually, all of them at this point — but there’s a chance we might try PETG for some in the future). To keep your cookie cutter (and you) happy and healthy, please comply with the following instructions:

• Do not wash it in the dishwasher or in very hot water. Wash it with dish soap, mildly warm water, and a light brush if necessary. Let it air dry.
• Do not put it in the microwave.
• Use it only on cookies you plan to bake thoroughly. PLA cookie cutters are not recommended for no-bake items (unless, of course, they’re no-bake projects you don’t plan to eat).
• If you’re having trouble getting the cookie dough to release, try a good dose of flour.
• If your cookie cutter is an imprint cutter (i.e. it has a design in the cutter itself vs an outline and separate stamp) it will work best with sugar cookies rolled about 1/4″ thick for most of the cookie cutters we make.

We do minimal post-processing on our cookie cutters — enough to remove strings or obvious bumps, but we do not sand them extensively as it makes no difference in your cookie and is difficult to do on something with as many nooks and crannies as a detailed cookie cutter.

We used to offer our cookie cutters coated with food-safe epoxy resin as an extra for a shinier finish and to fill in some of the inevitable 3D printing gaps — but it was more time and trouble than it was worth and a PLA manufacturer said, “we literally know of nobody who is doing that.” However, if you want to coat your cookie cutter with epoxy, we recommend Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast as it is what we use — it is food safe if cured properly and easy to mix and use.