Reusing old jars

Wash the jar and let it dry. I can't remember what this one held but I think it was some or other spice or sauce.

 Paint the lid in chalkboard paint. Give it a few coats and let it dry.

 Spray the back of a stencil with contact adhesive or use stencil glue. Wait the recommended time according to the manufacturers directions.

Place the stencil on the jar. I taped the top and bottom down because my stencil was a little big for the jar.

 Follow the bottle directions on the etching cream to apply the product to the jar. Wait the recommended time. Mine said to wait 2 minutes but a previous product I had worked with said to wait 30 minutes so I decided rather safe than sorry and waited about 20 minutes. PS: Don't forget to wear rubber gloves and protective clothing.

 Wash the cream off (not forgetting your protective gear). Remove the stencil and tape. Give the jar a good wash with warm soapy water or running it through the dishwasher.

 Once it's washed and dried then find a nice use for your "new" pretty jar.

Etched wine glasses

As posted earlier a friend of mine recently got engaged and I wanted to make them a set of personalized wine glasses. Like their love I wanted the glasses to last and so decided to personalize them with etching cream.

I have decided to do it a little differently to the previously posted tester glass. Here is the link to the post of the tester glass http://laurasdiycrafts.blogspot.com/2013/08/glass-etching-attempt-1.html and here is the process I used this time...

Supplies needed:

Wine glasses

Letter stickers spelling out the name you want to etch

Masking tape

Etching cream

Rubber gloves

Paint brush

I decided to go simple and elegant and etch their names on the base of the glass.

Place the stickers on the base. Where you place the stickers is where the glass will remain clear and not etched. Tape off the stem of the glass where you want the etching to end. I also taped off the sides and bottom of the base.

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 manufacturer’s 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 stickers and tape. Wash the glass in the dishwasher or with warm soapy water before using it.

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...