How To Etch Glass

A little over two months ago, I bought everything you would need to etch glass. It's not much really, just glass, contact paper, stencils, exact-o-knife, and Armor etching cream. All these materials sat upstairs until I finally decided what I could do with them. I originally got the idea from one of my sister's coworkers, Megan. She etched a beautiful name plate for my nephew and sent me the skinny on glass etching. Like most everything in my life, I got real excited and decided to hurry up and wait. So, here we are, two months later, and I found a reason to etch.

My fabulous friend and coworker (yes, I have friends at work!), Claire, is turning 30. To celebrate her birth, she's throwing a little shindig. I didn't want to show up empty handed and bringing only a bottle of wine felt like the easy way out. Good thing my bag of glass etching goodies contained two circle pieces of glass that would make perfect coasters!The stencils I had picked out would also fit her personality. Since she's very organic and earthy, I went with fern-like shapes. Now, it's time to get started. Here's what to do: 

1. Clean the glass with soap and water. Dry it with a clean cloth.
2. Apply contact paper on the glass. Make sure there are no bubbles.
3. Using your stencil, trace the design onto the covered glass. 
4. Take the exact-o-knife and cut around the tracing.
5. Peel off the contact paper that was cut-out. 
6. Thickly apply Armor etching cream with a paint brush and wait five minutes. 
7. Wash off cream with water and peel off contact paper.
8. Spray glass with glass cleaner and wipe clean. And there you go! 

 stenciled on

 stencils

 etching cream applied

 the finished product

It's not the most fancy gift, but it was fun to make and very easy to do. I'm sure Claire will appreciate it! 

Happy Etching!
--Am