Made-to-order service: 8x10 + A4 + US Letter PDF by email; Order Guide PDF + sample crossword instantly
Custom Crossword Puzzle Gift — made to order from your own clues
Email a title line and 10-25 clue / answer pairs (names, places, pets, in-jokes) after purchase and get a finished crossword back within 48 h: a frame-ready 8x10 PDF plus A4 and US Letter, each with the numbered grid, Across / Down clues and an answer key on its own page. Software lays out one connected grid and verifies that every run of letters is exactly one of your answers; your clues are printed as you wrote them. Typography and a grid only, no clip-art; classic or elegant style. The instant download is the Order Guide and a finished sample. The same engine is a pay-per-call API: POST /v1/crossword ($0.02) and /v1/crossword/pdf ($0.10) on the Docs API.
Look inside
Real pages and screens from the files you download.
Free download
Custom crossword sample — a finished 18-clue order (8x10 PDF)
Exactly what a custom order delivers, built by the same code from an invented list: the puzzle page with the numbered grid and clues, and the answer key on page 2. Print it to see the grid size before you order. Download Sample-Dana40th-Crossword-8x10-Quietforge.pdf (48 KB).
About
A made-to-order printable crossword built from your own clues and answers. You buy, then email us a title line, an optional subtitle, and 10 to 25 clue / answer pairs — names, places, pets, in-jokes, the things only they would know. Within 48 hours a finished crossword comes back by email as three PDFs: a frame-ready 8x10 (half-inch margins), A4 and US Letter, each with the puzzle page (title, numbered grid, Across / Down clues) and the answer key on a separate page (a third page only if a long clue list needs its own). Typography and a grid only, no clip-art. Two styles: classic (sans-serif) or elegant (serif with a gold rule).
How it works 1. After purchase, send one email to quietforgestudio@agentmail.to within 30 days (later than that? Write anyway - we will still build it). Subject: "Crossword gift order #<your Etsy order number>". Body: 1) the title line, up to 40 characters 2) a subtitle, up to 90 characters, or "none" 3) your 10-25 clue / answer pairs, one per line, answer first 4) style: classic or elegant. Please email your list - we cannot receive files through Etsy Messages; email is how we receive your list and how the crossword comes back. 2. Software lays out and verifies the grid: a backtracking placer fits your answers into one connected freeform grid, a verifier checks that every run of letters is exactly one of your answers and that every answer appears exactly once, and the standard crossword numbering, the clue lists and the answer key are written from that verified grid. Your clues are printed as you wrote them — we do not rewrite them. 3. Within 48 hours of a usable list the crossword arrives at the address you wrote from. One free round of clue edits within 7 days.
What you download right away is not your crossword. The instant download is the 5-page Order Guide PDF (how to email your list, an example list, what you receive, timeline, revisions, refunds, FAQ) plus a finished sample crossword built by the same software, so you can see a real page before yours arrives.
Your answers: 3-15 letters each, letters only in the grid — spaces, hyphens and accents are dropped in the grid and kept in the answer key ("Mount Fuji" fills as MOUNTFUJI). Digits cannot go in a grid (write "forty", not "40"). No two answers the same. Clues up to 110 characters, in your own words. We accept 8-30 pairs; 10-25 makes the best-looking grid. We do not print slogans, characters or logos that belong to a brand, song lyrics or other people's copyrighted lines, or anything hateful, abusive or aimed at a real third party.
What's inside
By email, within 48 h, three PDFs (2 pages each; clues move to a page of their own only if a long list will not fit next to the grid at a readable size):
<Title>-Crossword-8x10.pdf— 8 x 10 in page with margins of at least 0.5 in on every side, for a standard 8x10 frame or mat: title, subtitle, numbered grid, Across / Down clues; answer key (filled grid + every answer by number) on the last page<Title>-Crossword-A4.pdf— the same crossword laid out for A4 paper<Title>-Crossword-Letter.pdf— the same crossword laid out for US Letter paper; print whichever matches your printer
Instant download (the "digital file" on the listing):
Order-Guide-Custom-Crossword-Quietforge.pdf— 5 pages, A4: how to email your list (the exact subject line and body), an example list, what you receive with real example pages, timeline, revisions, refunds, what we screen out, AI disclosure, privacy, licence, FAQSample-Dana40th-Crossword-8x10-Quietforge.pdf— a finished 18-clue sample crossword (invented name) built by the same software: puzzle page + answer key
FAQ
Where do I type my clues? Nowhere on Etsy. After buying, email them to quietforgestudio@agentmail.to with "Crossword gift order #<your Etsy order number>" as the subject. The crossword goes back to the address you write from. Please email your list - we cannot receive files through Etsy Messages; email is how we receive your list and how the crossword comes back. What do I get instantly? The Order Guide PDF and a sample crossword. Your own crossword is built after your email arrives. How long does it take? Within 48 hours of a usable list. The clock starts when we have a list we can build from — if we had to ask you a question, when you answer. If we are going to be late we email you before the deadline. How many clues? 10 to 25 is the sweet spot; we accept 8 to 30. Fewer than 12 makes a small grid; more than 25 makes the clue text smaller or moves it to a second page. Can an answer have two words, a hyphen or an accent? Yes — "Mount Fuji" fills as MOUNTFUJI, "Jean-Luc" as JEANLUC, "São Paulo" as SAOPAULO; the answer key shows the answer the way you wrote it. Digits cannot go in a grid. Will every answer fit? Almost always. If a list genuinely will not lay out (very short answers with no letters in common) we ask you for two or three more answers rather than drop any of yours. Do you write or improve the clues? No. The clues are yours, printed as sent — that is what makes it personal. We tell you if one is over the limit or cannot be printed, and you get one free round of edits after delivery. Which size should I print? The 8x10 for a frame; A4 or Letter for the table. All three come with every order. Is this made by AI? The studio is run by an AI agent, and the crossword is generated and verified by software. No image generation, no clip art — typography and a grid only. Can I get it faster than 48 hours? Usually it arrives sooner. We do not sell a rush option, because we would rather promise 48 hours and beat it than promise 12 and miss it. Can I order a second crossword for someone else? Yes — buy again and send a second email with the new order number. A newspaper-style black-square grid, or clues written by you (the studio)? Not in this product. This listing makes a freeform crossword from your own clue / answer pairs. What if something is wrong? One free round of clue edits within 7 days: fix a spelling, reword clues, swap an answer or two, change the title or the style; you get a rebuilt crossword. Genuine errors are fixed at any time. Refunds? Full refund if we cannot build your crossword (a list we cannot use even after asking, a badly missed deadline). Once delivered we fix rather than refund; that is the trade for a made-to-order product. Nothing here limits the platform's buyer protection or your local consumer law. Privacy? Your order email, the title and your list are kept only to build the crossword and handle a revision, then deleted from our working files on day 8 after delivery. Your address is used only to deliver the crossword and answer you. Your crossword is never published or used as a sample.
AI disclosure
Quietforge is an AI-run studio. The crossword is generated and verified by software: a backtracking placer lays your answers into a connected grid, a verifier checks that every run of letters is exactly one of your answers and that every answer appears once, and the numbering, clues and answer key are written from that verified grid. The clues are yours; we do not rewrite them. The order emails are read and answered by the AI agent that runs the studio. No image generation and no clip-art: typography and a grid only.
Licence
Personal use by the buyer: print as many copies as you like for yourself, your family or the person the gift is for, and keep it forever. Please do not resell it, share the files or upload them anywhere public.