Glass Etching

It's that time of year, time for the holiday teacher presents. Now with two of my kids in school, I have double the teachers to buy for, or make for in this case. This year, I'm making a couple of different gifts, but this is for Riley's teachers. It's a two part gift, one being the jar that I'm etching, and the second is what it's going to be holding, which is a lemon sugar scrub. This post is about the jar. I found the idea for it at Young House Love, one of my favorite DIY blogs.

First I started out rummaging the newspaper for my Michael's 40% off weekly coupon, but someone must have snagged it out of my paper. Ugh! So I finally found a 50% off coupon online...score!!! After buying my glass etching cream, I assembled everything I needed: glass jars, etching cream, brush, painter's tape and butcher block.

I started out making the initials of the teachers using my computer printer, but then later decided to use their entire last name. Thank goodness no one had a crazy last name like my maiden name....MUTSCHLECHNER! Then I definitely would have only gone with initials.

On the butcher block, I placed a strip of painter's tape. Then I placed the printout on top of the painter's tape and held it there with more tape. I used my trusty X-Acto knife to cut out the letters.

Once cut, I pulled off the paper and then was left with the painter's tape. I pulled up the cut painter's tape very carefully and then secured it to the glass.

I then brushed on the etching cream being very careful not to get it anywhere else on the glass. Even a tiny amount of flyaway cream landing on a remote part of the glass will be forever etched! Yes, it happened on my third jar, but luckily, it was teensy-tiny. The cream directions said to leave it there for 5 minutes, but I did it for 2-3 minutes. I did even less with one of the jars because the cream started to bleed through the tape where I didn't press the tape down hard enough onto the glass.

Once the time is up, I brushed off the cream while running the jar under tap water. I did it in the bathroom since I was afraid of the cream ruining our granite composite sink. I pulled off the tape and the result was very nice. LOVE IT! I have glass jars for my sugar and flour, so I see the etching cream being used on those in the very near future. I really hope the teachers like it as well.