DIY: Personalized Etched Glasses

For a family of three, we produce a whole lot more dirty glasses in any given day than seems humanly possible. I thought etching our names in glasses would be a great way to reduce washing and make table setting more entertaining with Henry. I was a little scared of etching but it was easier than I thought and really fun. Wouldn’t it be a sweet wedding gift to give the bride and groom a set of etched wine glasses?

Would you like to see how to make your own? Keep reading to see the full tutorial…

Etching powder. Its a little scary and requires using rubber gloves since it’s highly toxic if it comes in contact with skin. Cheap though, I bought my bottle from amazon right here for $6

I wanted it to be script (which is also better for stencils) so printed out some script names. You could also use a stencil, or if you have a fancy stencil cutting machine like a cricut, that would be perfect and save you a lot of time and do you live in SF? Please can I borrow it sometime xoxo

I don’t have any fancy stencil cutting machines, so I simply taped the printed names onto clear contact paper and spent some quality time with my exacto knife.

After sticking the contact sheet stencils onto the glasses, I carefully applied the etching cream with a paint brush. Dabbing it on very generously. Wearing rubber gloves so I wouldn’t have to call poison control.

After a few minutes (check your bottle’s instructions) you can just wash it off and tear off the contact sheet.

Voila! Wash them in a hot dishwasher cycle before using.

Comments

So lovely and easy! How perfect these would be as gifts. Perhaps I’ll make them for my wedding party as part of their gifts 🙂

I think I might have everything to make these. Great project

I had never thought of etching glasses (or anything but my casserole pans, for that matter) – BRILLIANT! I’ve always used regular scrapbook stickers. Either I use the letters and then make a rectangle around it with masking tape, or else I use the negative portion of the sticker letters (you know, the part around the letters) and seal any spaces with masking tape. It’s worked like a charm the eight or so times I’ve tried it. And it’s cheap. And really, really easy.

I love how your project turned out! It’s fun to see how you worked around the Silhouette and your point-of-view on etching.

I used opaque contact paper and applied the paper before cutting out my image in my tutorial here: http://melissaesplin.com/2009/03/simple-glass-etching-tutorial/

I found that was easier than cutting before applying, and since you’re etching into the glass anyway, it doesn’t matter if you take a scalpel to the glass. Also, you reuse the etching acid, you don’t have to rinse it off. Which would reduce the amount of acid you’re pouring down the drain.

What a great idea. We go through a riduculous amount of cups as well. Very smart.

Comments are closed.