Glass Etching - Tutorial

                Something I’ve found myself to be very interested in lately is glass etching.  I have tons of glass bakeware that is just plain old glassware.  I’ve decided that etching the glass would be the best way to personalize and make my bakeware more exciting.  Using a gift card from my little sister, I purchased a glass etching kit.  The only one the store had available was the Martha Stewart Glass Etching Kit, but it seemed just as good as any, so that is what I purchased.  Then I chose a plain old glass pie dish to etch.  Matt and I chose a cute design from a Cricut cartridge that we both decided would look good on the pie dish and set to work.  Below is a tutorial on how to make your own.

Step 1.  Gather your supplies.  You will need a Cricut (or your own imagination and an X-acto knife), contact or shelving paper, scissors, a card, a glass etching kit, an old paintbrush, and your glassware.

Step 2.  Clean your glassware.  Using a paper towel and a glass cleaner, be sure your glassware is clean and debris free.

Step 3.  Get your Cricut ready.  

Since I was etching the entire bottom of my baking dish, I chose the 5 ½ size on the size dial.  

Contact paper is not very thick, so I chose 3 on the speed dial and 3 on the pressure dial.

 

Step 4.  Contact paper.  Cut your contact paper to the size needed for your project.  

Since I decided on a 5 ½ inch pattern, I cut my contact paper to a 6x6 inch square.  Place the contact paper right side up on a Cricut mat.

Step 5.  Cut it.  Load the paper into the Cricut.  

Choose your design, then cut it out.  

Unload you paper and there you have it.  

Remove your contact paper from you Cricut mat very carefully.

For those of you cutting with an X-Acto knife, draw your design on the contact paper, then cut it out.  Be sure to use a self-healing mat to cut on.

Step 6.  Apply Paper.  Begin applying your contact paper to the glassware by peeling back one edge and slowly pressing it to the glass surface.  

Press air bubbles out with a credit card or other tool as you go.  Make sure there are no bubble along the edge of your design as the etching liquid may get under it and ruin your design.

Step 7.  Begin etching.  Now that your contact paper is applied to the glass surface, you can begin etching.  

Add the etching liquid by using your old paintbrush over the contact paper surface.  

Use a thick, even layer.

Step 8.  Wait.  I left my etching liquid on somewhere between 15-20 minutes and it yielded beautiful results.  Have a cup of tea while you wait!

Step 9.  Remove the etching liquid.  Using a credit card, scrape away the etching liquid and put it back into the bottle of etching liquid.  

The etching liquid can be used multiple times, so make sure to conserve it.  After all, it wasn’t a cheap purchase.

Step 10.  Rinse.  Rinse off your glassware with water and a paper towel if necessary.  

Once thoroughly rinsed, dry well, remove contact paper, and wait about 2-3 minutes.  

Your etching may not look very good right after it is rinsed, but I promise, if you wait a few minutes, the water will dry entirely and your glass etching will look beautiful.  I hope you enjoy!