glass etching!

ever since i read about glass etching in the ginormous martha book, i knew it was a project i would try. in fact, i went straight for her etched storage jars idea, desperate to consolidate all of the half-empty rubber-band-topped plastic bags, mismatched tupperware containers, and paper bags of flour and sugar in my cabinet. so i found the perfect jars at target, dutifully used a michael's coupon for the slightly pricey etching cream, found a fantastic tutorial (in addition to the one in the martha book), and then let all of the materials sit on the kitchen counter.

for two months.

(maybe even three?)

luckily for me, my sweet sister in law attends a monthly craft group (led by a really nice girl we knew in high school!) who was doing an etching project this month, and came home from it with lots of enthusiasm and motivation to share with me! so i packed up K and took her over to play with her cousins while us big girls tested out the etching and had a blast! after a bit of trial and error and tweaking, we were quickly looking for how many other things in the kitchen could be etched? we settled on my sis's dish soap dispenser, which turned out so cute with a little frosty monogram! here is my quickie tutorial of how my jars turned out:

1. pick out what glass item you'd like to etch. (naked jars floating in the craft doldrums at my house):
cute jars waiting to fulfill their etched destiny at my sister in law's house!
2. arrange your stickers to spell out the labeling on your jars, plus any decorative items (like the stripe underneath each word). i used clear packing tape to mark off a large square around the word, but it's practically invisible against the clear glass. i did flour and sugar jars, using not-so-cute scrapbooking alphabet stickers that i had on hand and knew i would most likely never use in a scrapbook! (thus the lovely orange letter/red bandana stripe combo!)
smooth the stickers and the tape down tight so that there are no air bubbles. it also helps to make sure your jar/glass surface is squeaky clean before you start!
3. spread a nice thick layer of etching cream over the area you want to be etched, like you would frosting on a cake. be careful not to spread out over the edge of the tape. i think next time i'll use masking tape so i can see my boundaries more clearly!
4. let the cream sit for awhile. the jar says just a couple of minutes, but i did more like 20 to make sure the etching really showed up. i think next time i'll leave it on even longer. scrape the excess cream back into the container- it can be reused! then gently rinse off the rest (being careful not to wash your stickers off in case you want to etch it more! the etching won't show up well when it's wet, so make sure you pat it dry with a paper towel before deciding if you want it more deeply etched. (if you are not satisfied, spread the cream again and let it sit for 6-10 more minutes, rinsing and checking again until you are happy with it!)
5. enjoy your etched loveliness! (maniacally search house for glass items to etch... i am a little crazy for monogramming everything in my house, so this is a little dangerous for me!)

i will most definitely be using this idea for lots more projects! i'm definitely going to make my own little monogrammed dish soap dispenser, maybe even a huge cookie jar (that says got milk?), and i think more than a few folks may be receiving monogrammed glasses for christmas!

oh, and maybe some ornaments, too.