This weekend, I had a go with glass etching cream from Martha Stewart Crafts. I had this one stray tumbler, so I thought I'd personalize it with my mother's name, Scharlene. Her name has a unique spelling, so there has never been a mug or keychain or magnet with her name already on it. I think this will make an elegant holder for little chocolates or mints on the table next to her favorite chair.
It was much easier to etch glass than I thought it would be—especially with Martha's adhesive stencils. The final etched glass is even dishwasher-safe (top rack)...although I wish that mattered to me...alas, I have no dishwasher in my little kitchen, lol.
I started with a stripe all the way around, using the Martha Stewart painter's tape, which has a nice bit of stretch to it for cylindrical objects. Just dab the cream on fairly thickly with a brush, let it sit for 15 minutes, then rinse off the excess cream...now you're etched and ready to do the next part of the design.
I used the stripe as my guide for running the letters of her name around the glass with the adhesive stencils...very important to dab the cream on carefully so as not to get any streaks or globs on the glass where they don't belong, so I used a smaller brush to keep the cream out from between each letter. I used more painter's tape on the top and bottom as an extra precaution...etching where you don't want it is not an easy craft fail to cover up.
Then I ran the little 3" scroll border design around the lip of the glass, one section at a time, making sure to end it at the back of the glass, opposite the name. It actually measured out pretty evenly. I embellished the tumbler one step further by gluing a thin lavender ribbon between the stripe and the letters and then I added a few little adhesive pearl accents.
It was fun - next I have my eye on etching something amazing on the sides of my giant glass fruit bowl...
Until then, have a look at all these amazing projects using Martha Stewart Crafts glass paints and etching cream! Look for the full product line at Michaels Arts & Crafts stores.