It’s a new week, and a new year is right around the corner. I hope Santa brought you all those wonderful 3D printers or accessories that you wanted. Now, let’s look at a few upcoming stories that may put those new toys to work for you!

Makerbot has released a new version of its PrintShop that includes a neat new feature to create personalized medals similar to those one might receive at sporting events. They have included 7 different styles and 27 icons ranging from sports to academic. Find out more here.

Have you ever wanted to be able to take your 2D drawing or rendering and create a 3D print? Well, Embossify has created a website just for you! You can upload a .jpg file and create a low resolution embossed .stl file for free. If you need more detail you can pay a $5 fee and print like a pro! Read more about it here as well as garner a few ideas on the usefulness of their website.

Have you seen the new laser keyboards like this one on Amazon?  Many are Bluetooth equipped and can be connected to your smart phone or tablets and are fully functioning keyboards. Well, if that interests you then you might want to try printing and assembling your own just for fun. It’s not as compact, but works and would be a fun project for you and your kids. You can find the article and video here.

It’s hard to believe that 2015 is quickly approaching and 2014 is drawing to an end. Next year will bring fresh new ideas to the 3D printing community and I will do my best to bring you the brightest ones. I try to not only provide market news about new products, but also to generate new ideas from that news. The 3D printing community will thrive because of its synergistic nature with other communities and because it is such an outlet for creativity with minimal creative limits.

Happy New Years and happy printing!