I purchased a pack of hangers from Lows. I have also seen different stains/colors of hangers at Ikea and other stores. I made hangers for myself, bridesmaids, mother, father, the groom, and the groomsmen. I also made a set of hangers for my sister in law when she got married. I made hangers for her, her bridesmaids, and the mothers. Everyone really enjoyed this extra touch, and they looked great in photos.
For my hangers I used my Glowforge to engrave the names, titles, and dates into them. Here are the settings I used but know your settings may be a little different depending on the hangers you purchase. My material thickness was 0.4 inches. I used 800 for the speed and 80 for the power. I did not tape my hangers, because I had a nice dark stain wood, and the burn marks did not show on it. I used a wet paper towel and wiped my hangers down after engraving on them.
I also recommend placing a piece of computer paper down first, then placing your hanger on top of the piece of paper. This will allow you to see the edges of your hanger better when positioning your design/words, especially if you are using a dark wood like I did.


Once my engraving was finished, I took it one more step. I decided to paint the engraved areas. I applied white acrylic paint inside the engraved areas. I dabbed my paint brush up and down to get inside the engraved areas. I then took a wet paper towel and wiped off the extra paint that got outside the engraved area. Since the hangers have a smooth finish, the extra paint wiped right off. So, you do not have to worry about being very careful.


For my hangers I wanted to paint the names, date, and title in rose gold paint. The rose gold paint did not show up as well as I wanted it to against the dark wood of the hanger. So, I then painted the names, date, and title white and let that dry. I wiped off the extra white paint that got outside my engraved areas. I then applied my rose gold paint directly over the dried white paint. This really helped the rose gold paint stand out more.


If you do not have a way to engrave into your hangers, then you could apply the names, date, and titles with permanent vinyl. I actually did this first, then decided I liked the engraved look better and redid my hangers.

If you do not like the vinyl look, then you could make a stencil out of stencil vinyl or a vinyl you do not like. Then place the vinyl stencil in your desired location and dab paint into the stencil you created. Let it dry and seal it. If you do not seal it, then the paint will come off of the smooth surface of the hanger. To make a stencil you need to weed out (remove) the areas of your vinyl that you would like to see.
I really love how elegant these hangers look. They look so professional. It is those little touches that make such a difference.






If you would like me to make you your own personalized laser engraved hanger, then head over to my Etsy shop. I only have a few left.