12 Crafts of Christmas{Glass Etching}

One of my favorite gifts from a friend was a glass pitcher with my initials etched on the side.
I always assumed that glass etching was expensive or hard.
But really?  It’s neither!
The most expensive part is buying the Armor Etching cream.
I found a small bottle at Michael’s for somewhere around $6.

For my mom’s birthday, I made a monogrammed trifle bowl.
I made a new pitcher for myself.
And although this would be significantly easier if I had a Silhouette or Cricut,
It’s still not too hard to do it all by hand.

WHAT YOU NEED:  glass item(this project is a large glass serving plate), Armor Etching cream, paint brush, Con-Tact paper

First you’ll need to find a font you like and print out the thing you want to etch.
For this project, we’ll be doing just one letter in the center of a large serving plate.
I liked this “S” but I didn’t like the one spot at the top, so I shaded it in with a pencil to make it like I wanted.

Then I traced it onto a piece of contact paper and cut it out.
Don’t forget that you are really just cutting out the black!
You’ll need to cut out and save all those little white pieces and throw away the black parts.

After that I cut out the stencil and carefully placed it in the center of the plate
(including all those little white pieces).

Now for the easy part.  Get out your etching cream and a paint brush.
I prefer to use the cheap foam ones.

Thickly spread the etching cream over the stencil.
(Warning!  It smells like rotten eggs!)
Remember that anywhere the cream touches, it will etch.
So only get the cream on the contact paper or the stencil, but not anywhere else on the item.

After 5 minutes or so, carefully wash off the cream and dry it off.

Peel off all the piece of the stencil and enjoy your new etched glass item!

There are SO many things other than plates that you make!
Decorative edges on a mirror, glass Christmas ornaments, jars, glasses, vases…
Oooh!  You could personalize your Pyrex dishes so that it always comes home from pot-luck dinners!

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Want to see more of my crafty creations?

Check out the other 12 Crafts of Christmas:
Week One: Silhouettes
Week Two: Personalized Wall Clocks
Week Three: Glass Etching
Week Four: Fancy Fingerpaint Art
Week Five: Freezer Paper Stencils
Week Six:  Tie-Knot Fleece Blanket
Week Seven: Jewelry: Ribbon & Pearl Bracelet, Wool Ball Necklace, DIY Button Earrings
Week Eight: Chalkboard Paint Ideas: Glasses, Chalkboard, Candle, Love Box
Week Nine: Frugal Finds
Week Ten: Personalized Pendants
Week Eleven: Edible Edition