etching glass

I’ve always liked the look of etched glass, so last Sunday I finally got around to etching some canister jars for our pantry.

Materials:
-glass jars, washed
-etching cream, I used Armour Etch
-printer mailing label sheets (or contact paper, painters tape, or other adhesive medium to create a stencil)
-rubbing alcohol
-xacto knife
-paint brush
-water

1. Prior to starting, quickly wipe down surface of jars with some rubbing alcohol so it will have time to dry before applying the stencil. Print out text onto your stencil medium. I found it easiest to print directly onto an 8.5x11 mailing label (filling up the whole page with my desired text) and then placing that directly onto the glass jar. Once you have the stencil on the jar, then very carefully cut out each letter using an xacto knife.

2. Using a paint brush, liberally apply etching cream. Take caution here. Etching cream is dangerous to the touch, so make sure it doesn’t come in contact with your skin. I also did this outside to avoid inhaling any fumes. Let sit for 5 minutes. [Note: we tried various times on a test jar to determine which worked best for our jars. I would recommend doing the same since the directions on the back of the etching cream said anywhere from 60 seconds to 5 minutes.]

3. Rinse thoroughly with water. I had a hose nearby ready to use. Again, make sure not to splash near your face and eyes. and then peel away your stencil.

4. Let dry and ta-da! Etched glass!! I gave my jars a good wash through the dishwasher before putting any food in the jars to get rid of any residual etching cream.

Now they’re filled and in my pantry :)

xo,
logan