Okay, I have to admit that I have been having way too much fun thinking up new ways to use my Glowforge besides just cutting acrylic drink stirrers. And I am seriously obsessed with how I made these DIY decorative wall hooks with the Glowforge. My idea was to utilize a cabinet knob as the hook, but to cut out shapes from wood on the Glowforge to create a backplate of sorts for the knob to pass through and screw into the wall. And while sometimes ideas don’t quite work out how you hoped, these decorative wall hooks turned out even better than I could have imagined!

Just look at those beauties! I came up with 5 different designs to start, but the possibilities really are endless! Next I think I am going to try cutting flower or animal shapes out of acrylic. They’d be perfect in my kids’ rooms. How cute would a swan hook be?!

Not only are these perfect for using on a wall to hang jewelry, keys, etc, but if you scale them down a bit, they can actually be used on furniture or cabinets too! Just think about making a DIY dresser with decorative knob backplates! Hold on while I go to my local thrift store to find a dresser to makeover! Ha!

Now, I know most of you don’t have a Glowforge, but aren’t you tempted to get one so that you can DIY all the wall hooks, drawer pulls, and cabinet hardware in your home? If so, check out my referral link here to snag a hefty discount on a machine of your own. If you love the idea, but don’t want to pull the trigger on a machine, what do you think about me offering DIY wall hook kits? I can cut the shapes and provide the knob, hangar bolt, and backplate that you can paint any color you like! Let me know if this might be something of interest to you in the comments.

Materials to create DIY Decorative Wall Hooks:

• Glowforge
• Backplate designs
• Basswood, MDF, or plywood
• Cabinet knobs
• Hangar bolts
• Paint and paint brushes

Instructions

If you do have a Glowforge, then you will want to design your backplate in your design program of choice. I used illustrator to design mine. Once I had the designs made and sized appropriately, I added in a 1/4″ hole where I wanted the knob to be in the finished product. Then I cut the designs out from MDF. The starburst design was made in three pieces that I glued together after cutting and painting and the Aztec design was made by cutting out the main shape and then etching the triangle pattern inside.

Here are my shapes all cut out and ready to paint. Once I got to this stage, I simply painted the shapes with acrylic craft paint. Then once the paint was dry, I used wood glue to attach the multi pieced back plates.

Next, I added the bolt end of the hangar bolt to the knobs and placed the screw end through the hole in the backplate. Then I screwed the whole thing onto the wall. If you are screwing into drywall, I recommend adding a molly to the wall before screwing in your knob.

The Results

If you plan to make these as cabinet hardware or drawer pulls on a dresser, you can sub out the hangar bolts for regular bolts. Just thread the bolt through the drawer or cabinet from behind. Then, put it through the plate and into the knob.

Honestly still so obsessed with how these DIY decorative wall hooks with the Glowforge turned out! Don’t forget to let me know if you would like to see them as craft kits. That way you can paint your own!