Home Decor Crafts: Etched Glass Sweetheart Tree

Ah, etching cream.... you sit on the shelf so quietly, so calmly but once the jar is open - POW! You are the genie in a bottle that can transform a piece of plain glass into a glamourous beauty! Etching is a big part of my crafty toolkit so I was delighted to participate in this month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop challenge which was sponsored by my beloved Etchall® Etching Cream.

For my project, I etched tree branches and squiggly lines on a tall slender vase and etched initials on a heart mirror to create a bouquet arrangement reminiscent of a carved heart on a tree trunk. The way etching cream works is you can draw with it directly on glass or you can use a resist to protect whatever areas you don't want to etch. I wanted a very organic free-form look for the tree vase,so I used Etchall® Resist Gel to draw my design. But since I wanted very crisp letters and shapes on the mirror heart, I used an adhesive shelf vinyl as my resist which I then cut with a kraft knife. (FYI - die cut machines like a Silhouette work great for cutting more intricate designs on vinyl!)

Because I made this for my husband (the “B” of the mirror heart) I chose “masculine” colors for the decorative “tree branches” but I just might have to recreate it for myself using branches with pink silk cherry blossoms. If you've never tried Etchall® Etching Cream, you will be delighted at what you can make with it!

Here's how:

Etched Sweetheart Tree Vase

Materials:

• Tall smooth sided glass vase or jar
• Mirror heart
• Etchall® Etching Cream (You'll find some in my Etsy shop!)
• Etchall® Resist Gel
• Ribbon
• Sheet of kraft paper
• Decorative floral branches
• Glass pebbles

Tools

• Glass cleaner and paper towels
• Adhesive shelf vinyl
• Permanent marker
• Kraft knife
• Brush
• Rubber gloves and safety glasses

Etching the mirror heart

1. Clean the mirror heart carefully with the glass cleaner and paper towels. Cut a small piece of adhesive shelf vinyl and remove the backing paper to adhere it to the heart. Smooth the vinyl down well.

2. Draw your design on the vinyl with the permanent marker. I drew two letters in the center and dashed line “stitches” around the outside.

3. Use the kraft knife to cut the vinyl and to remove the areas which you'd like to etch.

4. Wearing gloves and safety glasses, brush a thick layer of Etchall® Etching Cream on the mirror heart and let it sit for 10 minutes. (Although Etchall® Etching Cream is very safe, it's always good practice to wear gloves and safety glasses whenever you work with chemicals.)

5. After 10 minutes, brush the excess etching cream from the mirror and back into the jar. (Etchall® Etching Cream can be reused multiple times so no need to waste it!) Wash the mirror in the sink with lots of running water. (*****PLEASE BE AWARE - etching creme will etch porcelain and ceramic sinks and counters. Etchall® recommends that when disposing of the etching cream that you flush with plenty of water neutralized with baking soda.This way it will not harm the plumbing. I always throw a few handfuls of baking soda down the sink as I rinse my pieces.)

6. Peel the vinyl off the mirror and rinse the mirror one last time. Pat dry with paper towels. (You can throw away the vinyl.)

Etching the vase

7. Clean the vase carefully with the glass cleaner and paper towels.

8. The Etchall® Resist Gel has a nice fine tip on the bottle which will allow you to easily draw your design on the glass vase. Squeeze the bottle gently as you draw branches and a "tree barky" texture. When finished, set the vase aside to dry until the resist gel turns clear. Depending on how thickly you applied the gel, it may take from 10 - 60 minutes.

9. Just as you etched the mirror heart above, brush on etching cream, let set 10 minutes, remove the excess etching cream and wash the vase under running water. Rub the resist gel under the water to remove it. Pat dry with paper towels.

Assembling the Sweetheart Tree

10. Cut the sheet of kraft paper to fit inside the vase. Stand the floral branches in the vase and fill with glass pebbles to keep the branches in place.

11. As a final touch, tie the etched mirror heart onto the vase with ribbon.

This is a sweet way to tell your darling how much he or she means to you. And you can completely change the look by using different floral branches. Try using red and white berry branches for Winter. And once you try etching, you will never look at a piece of glass or mirror again without imagining how you could add an etched design to it!

P.S. If you'd like to see some advanced etching techniques - take a look over at my other website Mad Craft Skills where you'll see what happens when you combine Etchall with dichroic glass. Way Cool!!

----------------------------

JUST IN! Are YOU itching to etch? Have you seen all the etched projects designed by Designer Crafts Connection(DCC) members? Then here's a newsflash for you: Hop thru the DCC webring and comment on the projects. Each time you comment you'll be entered to win the same Etchall® kit that the designers worked with - the more you comment, the more chances you'll have to win.

(US & Canada addresses only. You have until Midnight June 23rd,2013)

Just click on the "hop forward" or "hop back" buttons on the badge to visit the next site. You'll be inspired when you see all that the Designers have created!