Glass etching attempt 1

A friend of mine recently got engaged and I wanted to make them a set of personalized nice wine glasses. Like their love I wanted the glasses to last and so decided to personalize them with etching cream.
I had etching cream left over from eons ago but wasn't sure about the product. It looked lumpy. Solution: try it on a tester glass. Brilliant plan as then I can also see how the pattern would look once finished. Here is the process...

Supplies needed:
An ordinary drinking Glass
A picture or pattern that you want to edge onto the glass
Clear contact paper
Carbon paper
Craft Knife
Etching cream
Rubber gloves
Paint brush

I wanted to use to interlocking hearts and found a simple picture I liked which I printed out. Print it out in mirror image.

Turn your contact paper upside down with the paper side facing up. Place your carbon paper over the contact paper and then your printed out design over it. Trace the design. Just to make it clearer I then went over the traced carbon image with a marker, all the better to see it my dear. I also 'shaded' the areas I wanted cut out, just to avoid oopsies later when cutting it out. The areas that you cut out will be the pattern etched into the glass.

With your craft knife cut out the image. From the image you can see that I have temporarily misplaced my nice craft knife but made do with this utility type one instead.
Pull the paper backing off the contact paper. Stick the contact paper on the glass being sure to smooth out the edges. This is important. Once you see my finished product you'll notice I missed a spot and you don't want to ruin a perfectly good and fun project with flaws. Although  minor flaws just add character.
Wearing the rubber gloves apply the etching cream liberally to the glass. Wearing rubber gloves is important as etching cream can cause severe burns, not necessarily immediately visible, if it comes in contact with your skin. Let it sit for about 15 to 30 minutes, or according to manufacturers instructions.

Wash the etching cream off with warm water. Remember to wear your rubber gloves for this part too. When the cream is all washed off, peel off the contact paper, and viola. Wash the glass in the dishwasher or with warm soapy water before using it.
Here is my finished product. My ancient etching cream still works. It doesn't have an entirely smooth finish though so I think for the gift that I make for my newly engaged friends I'll invest in a new bottle of etching cream. Also you'll notice where I didn't properly smooth over the edges of the contact paper before applying the etching cream.

But now it's off to the store for etching cream I go...