Glass Etching, Part II

Glass Etching, Part II: A Beautiful Disaster

Welcome back to part 2! I am happy to report that I did a much better job this second time around. I actually did a stencil and a reverse stencil. I started with the jar I wanted to use for my sister. I am going to show you how to do a frosted letter and how to do the outside of the stencil frosty.

Materials:
-Glass surface (I got cheap jars from Ikea for like $4, but you can also get them from craft stores)
-Armour Etch cream
-Sponge applicator
-Scissors
-Contact paper
-Rubber gloves
-Googles
-Long sleeves, pants, and close-toed shoes
-Sharpie/Pen/Pencil
-Plastic grocery bag (for your garbage)
-Stencils (optional)


Frosted Letter Tutorial

1. Before I got down and toxic with Armour Etch (AE) cream, I decided to make my stencil first. I recommend medium to large sized stencils. I lined it up on the contact paper, and cut out a square large enough to center the N within it. Well, my mom did. I did the photography for this part. I wanted a frosty letter "N" on the jar, which means I would have to cut the N out and AE it. I cut the N out using a razor knife.

2. We trimmed the edge of the N on the left down, and removed the top portion of the contact paper. We gently applied it onto the jar. Don't press too hard initially, as you may need to move or re-align the contact paper.

3. Once it was on and I was satisfied with the result, I pressed hard, smoothing out all the bubbles. The important thing is to keep the bubbles away from the N part, or else the cream will leak into them and distort your design. We still had some bubbles, but the weren't touching the N at all.

4. Time to get suited up, yet again

5. I went outside with the jar (with rubber gloves on) and opened the AE cream. I mixed it with a popsicle stick.

Then, using the sponge applicator, I generously applied the cream all over the N.

6. Now, I stood the jar up to dry. BAD IDEA! Don't do that. What happened was, the cream ran down the jar past the stencil. I quickly rinsed it off, but you might not be so lucky. So, lay your jar down to dry, and stabilize it with something around it so it doesn't roll. Then, set a timer for 30 minutes.


7. After 30 minutes, I took the jar inside and rinsed off the AE cream.

 8. Here is the finished product! I had a little bit of AE cream that showed where it dripped down, but hey, nobody's perfect...especially me!

I filled the jar up with M&Ms and tied a ribbon around it.

 Frosted Background Tutorial

For this one, the steps were all the same, except I used the letter itself on the glass, and frosted all the area around it. I used a casserole dish my mom had lying around. This one's great for a housewarming present, and to make sure you get back your casserole dish if you lend it out.

I began to cut out my stencil of the letter Z. However, I realized that when I cut it out, I had the contact paper facing the wrong way. AS a note, you have to flip your stencil backwards onto the contact paper and trace it. Then, I applied the pieces one by one onto the inside bottom of the dish. You can do this on the outside, but a lot of companies print their logo on the bottom, making it all bumpy.

3. I applied the cream generously all over the bottom.

 Then, I waited 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, I rinsed the dish out.

Here was the result:

Not too shabby! I would definitely do this again. Especially now that I am not afraid of my skin melting away from the AE cream.

Glass Etching, Part I

Glass Etching, Part I: A Beautiful Disaster

So, I've been seeing a lot of glass etching all over Pinterest, and I really like the idea! I wanted to actually etch a jar for my sister, but knew I had to practice on something first. I was picturing sitting in a chair or on the floor with a sharp tool etching glass away for hours. But actually, it's a cream you use that is super toxic, and it burns the glass. I decided to give it a try. How hard could it be?

Oh man, it was a lot harder than I thought. Also, I was absolutely terrified of getting the stuff on my skin or in my eyes, because there are warning all over the place about wearing goggles and protective gear. I attempted this project on my own, although Josh helped a lot with the camera. I did not want to get that stuff on my camera at all. Here is the first attempt (feel free to join me in laughing at how silly I look or how badly it turned out...)

Materials:
-Glass surface (I got cheap jars from Ikea for like $4, but you can also get them from craft stores)
-Armour Etch cream
-Sponge applicator
-Scissors
-Scotch tape
-Contact paper
-Rubber gloves
-Googles
-Long sleeves, pants, and close-toed shoes
-Sharpie/Pen/Pencil
-Plastic grocery bag (for your garbage)
-Stencils (optional)

First, I thought I would cut out some stencils of my own from the contact paper. My idea was to cut the letters out of a strip, and apply the letters, and then just etch the area around the letters. But, the pieces I cut ended up being way too small and flimsy. Hard to cut something that tiny, even with small scissors! So there went that idea.

Then I thought, well maybe I will just cut out the letters and etch just the letters. Same problem--I couldn't cut the letters out tiny enough. I decided to just use the damn stencils and throw them out afterwards.

So, I suited up head to toe and went outside.

I taped the stencils onto the jar, but only the tops of the stencils. This will be an important note for later.

Next, I removed the cap of the Armour Etch (AE) and mixed it up with a plastic straw. Then I threw the straw in the plastic bag. Here's a picture of me gasping for air because the label of the Armour Etch also said, "Do not inhale."

So, at this point, I am freaking out on this stuff like it is that acid alien blood from the Alien movies.

I began to apply the Armour Etch cream with my sponge-y applicator. I laid it on pretty thick. Now, remember how I had taped the stencils onto the jar, but conveniently forgot to tape around all sides of the stencil? Well, the AE cream oozed underneath and behind the stencil, leaving a not-so-pretty design behind.

Now, I waited about 20 minutes for the AE cream to dry. Then, I rinsed it off outside with a garden hose, still wearing the gloves and goggles, in case of splashes. Here was the final result:

Umm...yeahhhh. Not exactly what I was hoping for. Well, back to the drawing board. Tomorrow I will take my glass etching safety gear and tools over to my mom's house. Apparently my mom had done some glass etching back in the day, and so she is more of a pro (unbeknownst to me!) than I. I am hoping this second time's a charm thing works it's glass etching magic on me tomorrow...Stay tuned!