Glass Etching Made Easy!

Okay, tell me what you know about the famous duo Bonnie and Clyde? 

• Murdering thieves from the 1930s
• In love with each other, but never married.
• Died in their car from a police shoot out with Bonnie’s half eaten sandwich still in her hand.
• Oh… and a favorite couple to my brother and his girlfriend.

That got me inspired, so this Christmas I made a gift that was personalized, just for them. 

Time for a little glass etching!  Okay, get out your sandblaster.  Oh… You don’t have one?  Okay, bring out your laser machine.  What?? You don’t have one of those either?  Geez, you’re not making this easy on me.

Ha!  Only kidding.  The Dremel way does look kind of fun, and I might try it at a later date, but this time I’m going to show you the easiest way ever to etch glass, without those big and expensive machines. 

Anybody can do this, and it makes GREAT gifts. 

Items need:

• Glass to etch
• Armour Etch cream.  (You can find it at just about any craft department.  I found mine at Michaels.  It will be close to $18 for a small bottle, but let me tell you, it lasts forever!)
• Gloves
• Paint Brush
• Design for your glass
• Contact Paper
• Cutting Mat
• Exacto knife or other sharp blade (I even used a box cutter once)

 

First step… Get the glass.  It doesn’t have to be big and expensive.  It just has to be glass.  I’ll let you in on a little secret, but don’t say anything… The glasses I used in this project were from the Dollar Store.  Two bucks was all it took to start this project off.

First, you are going to cut your contact paper to the same size as your design on the paper.  Take the backing off the contact paper, and stick it to your cutting mat.  Next, tape your paper design right over the top of it.

 

Now it’s time to start cutting.  This is where I’m always griping about how I want a printer that will cut out designs for me, but until I get one, this will do just fine. 

As you’re cutting, remove the letters from the contact paper.

Once you’re all done cutting your design, remove the paper, and underneath should be your very own stick-able stencil.  **Be sure to leave the inside of letters such as “O”, “P”, “B”, etcetera! You will need them later.**

Now, make sure your glass is clean.  Take some rubbing alcohol, put some on a cloth, and wipe down the glass.  This will help remove any debris and fingerprints.

Next, carefully remove your stencil from the cutting mat, and place it on the glass where you want the design to be.  Be sure to smooth out all the bubbles.  This can be easy or hard depending on the shape of the glass.

**Don’t forget to put the insides of your letters, which I told you to save, back in their place.  This will make it so you get the outline of the letter, and not just a big blob.**

If the edge of your stencil is close to your design, put tape along the edge. This will give more of a buffer to prevent the etching cream from getting where you don’t want it to go. Just remember, wherever the cream goes, it will be etched.    

Once you got it taped off and all the bubbles are out, it’s time to etch. 

This is where you put on your gloves.  **I know, I know!  The pictures show me not using gloves, but it IS an important step in protecting your hands.  This is an acid… enough said.**

Shake/Stir your Armour Etch.  Now, using your paint brush, dip it in the bottle and paint over your design, using a liberal amount. 

**This is where the directions say to paint over once and let it sit for 1-3 minutes.  I’ve done that, and it was okay.  However, it just didn’t seem as bold as I wanted it to be.  That’s when I found this video, and once I started doing what he said, I got the results I was looking for.** 

YouTube - Better Results for Etching

Basically it’s this…

• Paint it on as directed
• Set your timer for six minutes, maybe a little more for bigger areas.
• Then paint over it again going a certain direction.
• Get some more cream and go over it again using another direction.
• Do it again with another different direction. 
• Use vertical stokes, then horizontal, then diagonal, then diagonal the other way; in any order you wish.
• Scrape the cream that’s left on your brush back into the bottle. Then let it sit for the remainder of the time.

Time to rinse it off.  Put it under the running faucet, and use your paint brush to help clean off the cream with the water running over it.  Bonus… Your paint brush gets clean at the same time.

Take off your stencil, dry it off, and voila!  You have a beautiful etched glass piece.

Uh Oh!! The shape of my Bonnie and Clyde glasses are square at the bottom and I missed a few folds that formed along the “C”, hence a distorted looking letter where the cream seeped through. 

Now, I only recommend this fix if you have steady hands!!  I happen to have said hands. 

Freehanded, I took a liberal amount of cream and painted along the edge of the letter, to make the edge more unified. 

I let it sit, and once I rinsed off the cream, I got the look I was going for.

 

The first time I ever did this, I made wine glasses for my mom.  She absolutely loved them because they were original and PERFECT for her. 

After that, I went a little crazy and started etching everything around our house where I thought it would look good. 

Then I made a father’s day gift to my husband.

The look on my brother and his girlfriend’s faces were priceless when they opened their gifts this Christmas.  I gave the Bonnie glass to her and the Clyde glass to him.  They couldn’t get over how much they liked them, and that’s why I love doing this technique so much.

 

(Before you ask... Yes, that is toilet paper on our Christmas tree.  Our resident elf, Applejack, put it there, and the kids loved it so much to keep it on there.)

What’s your favorite glass etching technique?

If you’ve done this before, don’t be shy and share some tips that you’ve picked up along the way.

Lastly, if you try this out, be sure to send me pictures, and let me know what you thought.

Until then…

HAPPY DIY-ING!!