Quick Craft: Glass Etching

Here's a true story.

Mr. W and I moved into our house about two months ago (goodbye, tiny apartment!).  One of our favorite things about our house is our master bathroom, complete with...drum roll...TWO SINKS!  It's wonderful.  Dual sink ownership did present one small problem, though: where to put those "shared" items, like the toothpaste?  Do we store it in one person's drawer, or do we just let it roam the counter, homeless?  (I know, I know.  First world problems.)  The answer to our little predicament came in the form of an empty candle jar and some etching cream.

I didn't try glass etching until a few months ago; I was worried that it would be insanely hard or that I would mess up and cause serious, irreparable damage to the item I wanted to etch.  If you have these same concerns, put your mind at ease!!  Etching is seriously easy, fast, fun, and addictive.  And if you buy the etching cream with a coupon, it's really cheap (it's still pretty cheap without the coupon, too).

Please note: Etching is PERMANENT!  You cannot undo it once it's done, so don't go etching a priceless family heirloom!

Start out with your glass item.  I used an empty candle jar.

Decide what you want to etch onto the glass and where you want it to be.  The areas you do NOT want etched need to be taped off so that no etching cream can touch the glass.  I decided that I wanted the letters on my jar to be clear glass with etching around them.  I used my Silhouette to cut out vinyl letters, but you could also use masking tape and a craft knife.  As you can see, I also taped off the top and bottom of the jar to create a defined area for the etching.

Everything that isn't covered will be etched.  If I'd wanted the words themselves etched into the glass, I would have applied the vinyl with the letters removed so that only the letters were exposed.

Apply the etching cream, following the instructions on the bottle.  I used a foam paintbrush to spread the cream onto my jar.  Make sure you cover your work area.

Let the etching cream work its magic!  I let mine sit for five minutes, according to the bottle's instructions.  When time's up, thoroughly rinse off your glass and remove the vinyl/tape.  I like to wash the glass with some soapy water to make sure the cream is totally gone.

Ta-da!  You just etched some glass.  Congratulate yourself!  You may find that you have a burning desire to etch more glass.  Search online or check Pinterest for more glass etching inspiration.  I think my next etching project will involve tinting mason jars like this and then etching them.

Sorry; it was hard to get a good picture of the finished product!

This little jar now sits between our sinks, holding our toothpaste and floss.

And we all lived happily ever after.