SparkMark Studio

06/15/2026

Hey ya'll!

It's been a quiet week-ish at SparkMark Studio, as we took a family vacation to Texas!

We loaded NINE (almost all adults) of us into a van and drove from Minnesota to East Texas, towing a 12' long trailer! We had a great time with beautiful (and hot and humid) weather. Even with 3am departure times, due to our family and travel logistics, it took us about 20 hours each for the trip down and back. At 8-9 MPG, we kept the demand for fuel high, and visited about every Love's (and two Buc-ees!) between here and Texas...so we hope everyone appreciates those lower gas prices!

A quick nap after we landed back home early this morning, and I'm back after it! I spoke with a few folks about orders while I was on vacation and have a couple to wrap up...so LET'S GO!!!

06/04/2026

This popped up in my feed today, and I had to share. Thank you Minnesota Lake Ambulance for making clear where you stand with your service!

Happy Pride everyone 🏳️‍🌈

At Minnesota Lake Ambulance, we are committed to providing compassionate, professional care to every person we serve. We believe that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and kindness, regardless of their background, beliefs, identity, or life circumstances.
As Pride Month begins, we celebrate the diversity that strengthens our communities and reaffirm our commitment to serving all individuals with the same level of care, respect, and compassion. We are proud to stand alongside our neighbors and patients, ensuring that everyone feels valued, welcomed, and supported when they need us most.
Happy Pride Month from Minnesota Lake Ambulance. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

05/31/2026

Tired of metallic tasting coffee???

One of my favorite US suppliers, Lancaster Laser Supply, has a new line of CERAMIC lined, copper plated tumblers! PLUS, these have magnetic sliding lids...all at the fraction of the cost of a Yeti.

Need 1 or 100? These make great gifts, or I can personalize it for you with whatever you'd like!

My personal favorites are the white and the black (badges look great on these), but I have to say that the red would look incredible with a fire department logo!

05/29/2026

This is why you keep extra lenses on hand.

Off to Amazon I go!

05/25/2026

Bit windy out this evening...

I was working in the shop and waiting for a kid to come home when I decided to open the garage door for them so they could run right in.

The first thing I saw was an airborne basketball hoop. We had it stored on the side of our house. And it wasn't being dragged by the wind, it was actually airborne.

Fortunately it came down before it was blown into our neighbor's 1 ton pickup, and I got it dragged to safety.

05/23/2026

It is absolutely no bueno when your computer dies, and not only do you have to completely reinstall the operating system and all the programs, but re-figure many settings within those programs.

Fortunately I had all my material settings saved externally. I can't tell you how long that would have taken to reconstruct.

But things like the rotary configuration (so I can use repeat marking for this business card jig), I had to set up all over again.

And then test.

And then test some more.

Which leads to a lot of "wasted" materials...

But being able to use automation like this is woth the extra hour or two it took.

Now, this is my (and your) reminder to BACK UP YOUR IMPORTANT FILES AND SETTINGS.

And your entire computer if you can!

05/22/2026

🤔😵‍💫🤯

01/08/2026

Engraving a knife from SureShot Tactical and Against the Grain Armory. Very detailed!