Well, lately some devices have become available to the common maker that can play the role of a time machine to some extent: laser cutters, CNC milling and 3D-printing.
The layered acrylic rings presented here are an example on how I use this. While ordering parts laser cut from acrylic sheet of different colours, I added ring sections to the design files. These "prefab" ring parts save a lot of time.
Gluing, sanding and polishing still involves some handwork, so the handmade gift statement is intact ;-)
With the parts cut to the right size it takes only about 20 minutes to make one finished ring (without power tools). And it doesn’t make much of a mess if you work in a basin or something like that.
Obviously the colour combination is chosen to fit the taste of the intended recipient. I find the best effect is reached with transparent colours (here the amber, brown and violet) and translucent colours (like the red here). But opaque colours (white, black) give nice results too. The pictures in the following steps are from the making of a black-and-red ring not shown in pictures above.
If you like this Ible, please give it your vote in the contests.