My diode laser lives in the garage between the bikes and the lawn mower, and most nights after my three kids are in bed it's engraving a gift for someone. These are the 24 engraving files I keep going back to, from cutting boards to slate coasters, and each one is a free download from Creative Fabrica.
A 3D-look landscape of mountains, forest and water, shaded to engrave with depth. You get 15 grayscale PNGs at 4096 by 4096 pixels, and the seller includes Glowforge settings and a LightBurn tip: use Jarvis dither. It's an image for engraving, not a cut file. I burned the lake scene on a maple plank for my dad's cabin, and from across the room it looks carved.
Looking around is free. Search the engraving files, open a few listings and check the format before you pick: a grayscale PNG for photo-style depth, an SVG when you want clean lines. Or keep reading, since every file below has already been on my laser bed.
A horse in motion with the same 3D-style shading, again 15 grayscale PNGs at 4096 pixels square. The seller lists leather as well as wood. My oldest rides every Saturday, so this one went on a plaque above her desk.
A Highland cow for anyone who loves farmhouse decor, with the same set of 15 grayscale PNGs. The seller says it works best on light-colored wood, and on pale maple the fur looks almost real. My wife's coffee corner has one on a small round board.
Line-art sunflowers drawn for cutting boards and charcuterie boards, with 13 SVG files and 13 PNG files in the bundle. Line art is the easiest thing to engrave well, because there's no shading to tune. I put the big bloom on a walnut board for a neighbor who grows them along her fence.
Two cardinals on a branch, as a black-and-white PNG at 4000 by 4000 pixels, about 13.3 inches square at 300 dpi. The seller lets you sell what you make from it, just not the file itself. My mother-in-law says cardinals are visits from the people we miss, so she got this one on a round of cedar.
A hummingbird from the same seller, in the same format: one PNG, 4000 pixels square. The feathers are fine, so I run a test square on scrap before the real piece. It went on a slate coaster for my aunt, who keeps three feeders on her porch.
A rose bouquet, again a black-and-white PNG sized for about 13 by 13 inches. Roses are my fallback for anniversaries and Mother's Day, and this one fills a large cutting board without looking crowded.
A mandala keychain in three versions: one layer with an open center, one layer with a tab hole, and a two-layer piece. It's about 2.4 inches tall, drawn for 1/8 inch material, and all three come in one SVG. It's a quick cut-and-engrave job, and my youngest handed a bag of them out to her soccer team.
A fall set of corn, pumpkins, acorns and leaves, as SVG and DXF in black and white. I use the pieces one at a time as often as the whole set: a single pumpkin on a coaster takes almost no time.
A round dragonfly design, 10.2 inches across, with red lines to cut and black lines to engrave. You get one SVG, one PDF and one DXF, and the seller makes it from 1/4 inch plywood. Mine is engraved on a pre-cut plywood round and hangs by our back gate.
A mother and son under the quote "A Son Is Love That Lasts a Lifetime," made for plaques, shelf sitters and engraved gifts. The seller lists diode lasers along with Glowforge and xTool, so it runs on my setup as is. The zip has SVG, DXF, an Illustrator file, EPS, PDF and DWG. My nephew and I made one for my sister's birthday, and he picked the stain.
A barbecue design as a 4000-pixel PNG, from the same seller as the birds. Every dad I know owns at least one board with a grill on it, and this is the one I give. It looks best on a thick maple board.
One detour before the next run of cutting boards. My brother wanted his old pickup truck on a board, and no seller has that picture. Studio AI is Creative Fabrica's separate image tool, and new accounts start with 25,000 free AI Coins. Describe the picture you have in mind, pick a style, and download the image. His truck board hangs in his kitchen now.
Cozy farmhouses with flowers in line art, for cutting boards and charcuterie boards. The bundle has 5 SVG files and 5 PNG files. The small cottage fits a paddle-shaped board perfectly, and it's what my wife asked for when our old board cracked.
Wine and cheese in line art, 13 SVG files and 13 PNG files, sized for a charcuterie board. I keep two of these engraved and oiled in the garage for last-minute host gifts.
Christmas candles in line art, a small bundle of 4 SVG files and 4 PNG files. One candle across the corner of a long board is all it takes, and our mail carrier gets one from us every year.
"Recipe for a Mom," a Christmas design that's part funny and part sweet. One SVG and one PNG at 3000 by 4000 pixels. My kids read every line out loud before we gave it to their mom.
The same idea for grandma, with its own list of what makes her unforgettable. One SVG and a matching PNG. We made one for each grandmother, and both went on the kitchen wall instead of in a drawer.
And one for the cook in your life: "Recipe for a Chef," with messy aprons and secret ingredients on the list. Same files, one SVG and one PNG. My buddy who cooks at a diner keeps his next to the grill.
"Good Things Come to Those Who Bake," as an SVG only. It's short, it's a pun, and it fits a small round board. It went to the neighbor who drops off banana bread every other week.
Its fishing twin, "Good Things Come to Those Who Bait," made for wood cutting boards, in SVG, PNG, JPEG and EPS. My father-in-law cleans his catch on it at the lake.
A gardening grandma design made for slate: 12 grayscale PNGs at 4096 by 4096 pixels, for coasters, plaques and signs. Slate turns a soft white under the laser, so the design stands out without paint, and it's the gift I reach for when I'm short on time.
A beach scene for slate, also 12 PNGs at 4096 pixels square. One hangs by our front door with the year of our last beach trip engraved under it.
A 3D-look Christmas gnome with the same 15 grayscale PNGs at 4096 pixels as the landscape. Like everything from this seller, it's an image for engraving, not a cut file. The seller suggests ornaments, cutting boards and signs, and at our house it goes on the teachers' gifts.
A 3D-look "Merry Christmas" for ornaments, signs and wall art, again 15 grayscale PNGs at 4096 by 4096. Ours is on a long board over the mantel, with the kids' names engraved underneath.
If your laser is new, start where I did: a line-art cutting board, then a slate coaster, then the big 3D-look pieces. Most sellers leave power and speed to you, so run a test on a scrap of the same wood, and oil a board only after it's engraved. Save this list for the next birthday on the family calendar.
The engraving files on Creative Fabrica go far past these 24: animals, flowers, family quotes, kitchen boards and whole seasonal bundles. Scroll through once and you'll have the next three birthdays covered.
Quick heads-up: the Creative Fabrica links in this post are affiliate links. If you join through one, I may earn a small commission, and you pay the same.