Glass Etching Tutorial

This morning I taught a session at a women's seminar about making gifts. I know it was hard for some people to take notes and I also wanted to make the instructions available for others that were not able to attend the class. So here's my tutorial!

First of all, let me explain a little about glass etching. This is not merely painting on to glass - you are actually permanently etching into the glass by using a cream that eats away a fine layer of the glass. Which means that your finished product is dishwasher safe, oven safe, and microwave safe. Now lets get to the details.

Materials:

• Armour etching cream (you can find this at a craft store for about $8)
• paintbrush
• contact paper
• exacto knife (or really sharp box cutters)
• design to etch printed on a piece of paper
• tape
• scissors
• glass to etch

Steps:

1. Adhere the printed design to the glass on the opposite side making sure that the image is seen how you want it to look (even, centered, and if it's a letter or word that you can read it when you hold your glass piece the right way).

[this picture was taken from the bottom, so the image looks the wrong way]

2. Cut the contact paper at least one inch larger than your design on all sides. The contact paper becomes your stencil on the glass so you want to make sure to press out any air bubbles.

3. Using your exacto knife, trace the outline into the contact paper. Make sure to press firmly enough to cut all the way through the contact paper.

4. Remove the contact paper from the inside of your traced design, exposing the glass.Using the paintbrush, spread the etching cream over the design in a thick layer. Wait 10 minutes and then use the brush to scrape the cream back into the jar. Reapply another layer and leave it for another 10 minutes before scraping it back in the jar.

1. 
   5. Rinse your glass in a stainless steel sink or with a hose outside (not in a porcelain sink because it can dull the finish). Remove your stencil and rinse again.

6. Done!
I love this project because you can use it to personalize a wedding gift, make fun hostess gifts, or just put designs on things you use. I have dreams of one day etching a design on the border of my mirror. {One day ... one day ... } Once you have the etching cream and the contact paper, this is a really cheap project. And you can pick up glass pieces at Wal-Mart, Goodwill, Big-Lots, and use the coupons at AC Moore, Michaels and Bed, Bath & Beyond!

I hope this was helpful! Please let me know if you have any questions!