Glass Etching Cream | I Tri and Craft

‘Tis the season for giving, and there is nothing better than giving someone a hand-made gift.

Except being able to giveaway a new Silhouette Portrait or Cameo, that is.

That’s right, a wonderful group of bloggers and I have gotten together to giveaway not one, but two Silhouettes. These ladies have also came up with a variety of holiday projects to make with your brand new Silhouette. Just follow the links at the end of this post for some inspiration.

DIY Christmas Coasters

I thought I would share some of the gifts I have been making for Christmas this year.

I made some Christmas coasters from tiles using a couple different methods, including etching cream, vinyl and sharpies.

I love making etched glass items and thought how great it would work on glass tiles. I found these blue glass tiles, they are clear glass with a backing that is colored, and knew they would be perfect for a snow themed coaster.

Since the tile would be a coaster I wanted the majority of the surface to be rough with the design smooth. I cut my design out of scrap vinyl, I have been told contact paper works too, and transferred the design on to the tile.

I like to apply my etching cream right next to the sink. I lay down wax paper for a work surface, and use gloves to protect my skin. At the end of the etching time I try to scrape the etching cream back into the bottle. No need to waste! Rinse the rest of the cream off the tile under cold running water. Peel off the stencil and wash again with soap and water.

Please follow the directions on your etching cream and be safe.

Because the tile is thick glass the unetched parts refract the light and distort the design when trying to take a picture.

I absolutely love how these turned out, but the elegance of them is lost in translation. They do look lovely all wrapped up in a bow.

Did you know that etching cream will also take the glaze off ceramic tiles?

This is even harder to photograph because of how subtle it is.

My first thought was to make a minimalist snowman design with vinyl, but then I decided to take it one step further. I used a vinyl stencil for the snowman base and a few circles of falling snow. I then applied the etching cream to the entire coaster as above. This left a rough background with a shiny snowman and snow.

After etching, washing and allowing to dry for at least a day, I applied the vinyl decorations, using outdoor vinyl if I had it. I love how these turned out, they are impressive with just the vinyl but when you look close you can see the subtle outline of the snowman and snow.

But why stop there? Sharpies on ceramics are always a fun craft.

Since I am pretty sure my 4-year-old draws better than me, I use my Silhouette to cut out stencils for all my Sharpie work as well. As I did with these Rudolph coasters and they are fantastic!

After coloring I cured the ink by placing the coasters in a cold over, turning on the heat to 350°F, baking for about 30 minutes, turning the oven off and letting the coasters come back to room temperature slowly.

Using the same sharpie and stencil method I made some Christmas light coasters as well.

On one set of coasters I simply colored the lights in. On the other set I used the negative of the stencil and used scattered dots to draw the lights. I should tell you that I did not use oil based markers or ceramic pens. I cured them just as I did with the Rudolph ones.

Some of the colors (uh, all but the red and green) did not hold up as well with the curing process. *sigh, lesson learned. So, if you are going to cure them in the oven, use ceramic markers. Another option would be to seal them after coloring with a clear waterproof sealant. Sealing them is still probably a good idea anyway.

Not to worry though. They can just be recolored and then sealed. (which admittedly I have not yet done, but plan on doing)

These coaster would make great gift to with a new mug and box of hot chocolate, coffee or tea. *spoiler alert

Silhouette Giveaway!

I know, I know, here is the part of the post you are most excited about. As I said above, my Silhouette Challenge buddies in partnership with Silhouette America are hosting a mega-huge giveaway for not one…but two winners! The prizes up for grabs?

First prize: The NEW Silhouette Cameo Machine and Designer Edition Super Bundle! $406.93 value.

Silhouette CAMEO®
Designer Edition Software
Dust Cover
$25 Download Card
Four Essential Silhouette Tools (hook, spatula, scraper, pick-me-up™)

Second prize: Silhouette Portrait Machine and Rhinestone Starter Kit! $219.98 value.

Pretty sweet, huh? We want you to have the chance to get that Silhouette machine that might still be on your wish list.

To enter: just click on the image below or on this link, either will take you to the entry form. Because of my many blog friends who helped make this giveaway possible, you have 42 potential entries, which means a lot of winning power. So, hurry up and enter!

{This giveaway runs from today through Monday, December 15th at 11:59p eastern and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older with a U.S. or Canada mailing address. You can read the rest of the terms and conditions in the giveaway window. You only need to enter the giveaway on one blog.}

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

click on me to go to entry form

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so pursue the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!

1. Pineapples and Pinecones // 2. Simply Kelly Designs // 3. Architecture of a Mom // 4. Just a Girl and Her Blog // 5. Two Purple Couches // 6. Chicken Scratch NY // 7. Creative Ramblings // 8. One Dog Woof // 9. Ginger Snap Crafts // 10. The Thinking Closet // 11. Please Excuse My Craftermath… // 12. Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body // 13. weekend craft // 14. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 15. Practically Functional // 16. Living My Given Life // 17. My Paper Craze // 18. The Kim Six Fix // 19. Home At Eight // 20. Queen of Everything // 21. Tried & True // 22. McCall Manor // 23. unOriginal Mom // 24. Create it. Go! // 25. From Wine to Whine // 26. GetSilvered // 27. It’s Always Ruetten // 28. Nearly Handmade // 29. Mama Sonshine // 30. Silhouette School // 31. It Happens in a Blink // 32. Create & Babble // 33. Sowdering About // 34. Where The Smiles Have Been // 35. My Favorite Finds // 36. Lil’ Mrs. Tori // 37. Designed Decor

Way back in the late 90’s my sister got married and I helped her make the bridal party gifts. She wanted to order etched beer mugs for the groomsmen and I told her we could just do it ourselves. So we went to the craft store and bought this:

Armour Etch Starter Kit

You see the rose wine glass? We made those for the bridesmaids. And the kit hasn’t changed in the almost 20 years since we bought it.

It was a pain! You tape the stencil to the glass and the etching cream bleeds through and smears and it isn’t pretty.

But guess what….I now have a Silhouette Cameo that cuts vinyl. And vinyl makes the perfect stencil for glass etching. They also make stencil material that has a sticky back, or you could use contact paper.

So while searching Pinterest one day I saw some glasses that state “you have just been poisoned” at the bottom of them. I just knew I wanted to make some, and I knew the perfect machine to make a really good stencil.

After getting my Silhouette Cameo for Christmas I joined a Facebook group that has allowed me to learn how to use my machine, share my projects, help others learn how to use their machine and push me to try new things.

One of the events they hosted this year was a hand-made gift exchange. Whomever in the group wanted to participate just signed up and the coordinator matched you with another group member. You then made each other a hand-made gift. Sounds like fun, huh?

After chatting with my gift receiver I thought she might just be the person to appreciate this fun gift. To the Silhouette I go!

I measured the bottom of the glasses. It is important when looking for drinking glasses that the bottom of the glass be completely flat. Typically when etching on the outside of glass you don’t need to flip the image, but with this design it will be read through the bottom of the glass, so it needs to be flipped on the horizontal.

Cut your stencil out of vinyl, others have had success with contact paper, but I have yet to try it as a stencil. I used the default vinyl settings and it cut perfectly.

Clean the glassware and wipe with rubbing alcohol. When completely clean and dry apply stencil.

Follow the instructions on the glass etching cream you have purchased. The etching process is pretty quick to apply it next you a running water source. That way if you happen to get any on your skin you can quickly rinse it off.

Please remember this is a caustic substance and can eat away at your skin. Be safe and use precaution and proper safety gear. Gloves are highly recommended, as is a well ventilated work area next to running water. If you do happen to get some on your skin rinse under high flowing cold water for at least 15 minutes.

As per instructions I used a wooden stick to pile on a helping glob of cream and let it sit for about a minute. I then ran it under cold water until it was all rinsed off. If you are concerned about the cream etching your pipes, don’t be, but you can run cold water down your sink for 2-3 minutes if you want to ensure you have full diluted the cream.

I think they turned out pretty awesome, don’t you?

Now while these are awesome drinking glasses, I also wanted to make something a little more personal for her. My gift exchange partner is going to school to become a forensic investigator! What an awesome degree huh? So I decided to make her a some artwork that encompass that goal.