The first project...I can't remember where I saw it, but someone etched words on jars and I LOVED it. (Well, I still love it.) I forgot to take a before picture. But I started with some plain glass jars that I have been using to hold my sugar, sweets, and flour. I dumped out all the goods, cleaned and dried the jars. I then taped off the area that I wanted to etch with painters tape. Then I centered the stickered words on the jars. (I ended up using the middle stickers that were with the pack that I bought. I originally wanted to use a size bigger, but they were too big. So the middle size worked just fine.)
Once everything was set, I used a foam brush and brushed on a think layer of the glass etching stuff. Let it sit for at least 1 minute (I think I waited longer).
Without touching it, wash off the etching stuff. Once it was all washed off, I then took the tape and stickers off.
I then rewashed the jars, dried them, and filled them back up with their item. I apologize for the final picture. It looks much better in person. It was just very had for the camera to see it.
If I get the chance to do something like this again, I will make sure I put the etching cream on a lot thicker than what I did. I thought it was thick, but I completely missed some spots. So if you attempt this project, don't be stingy with the etching cream. Lay it on thick!
Now on to the next project...custom coasters! I got this idea from a fellow TRiO employee, and here is what I ended up with.
I found the ceramic tiles at Lowe's for 28 cents each. The stamps can be whatever stamp design you would like to use. The ink needs to be the StazOn Ink Pads (Hobby Lobby has them if you want to pick one up. They aren't on sale this week and the weekly coupon is not the 40% off one, so my fabulous Stampin' Up demonstrator let be borrow her black and red StazOn ink. Don't worry, I'll be getting her a new black pad as soon as they go on sale or the coupon is out.)
I stamped my design on the tiles, and then let them dry completely. If you mess up, just have a wet paper towel or wipe sitting by, and wipe off the mistake. A few times the row of dots got a little smudged, so I just wiped them off right away, let the tile dry, and tried again. Once all the tiles were completely dry, I then added little felt circles to the bottom of the tiles so they would not scratch tables, etc. Let me tell you....these were not easy to find. At my local Hobby Lobby, the little felt circles are located in the FRAMING area. Not really sure why, but they are. So keep that in mind if you ever go out looking for little felt circles or squares. Or just save yourself a few minutes of walking around the craft section of the store about 3 times, and just ask someone that works there.
In the end, I was quite pleased with the coasters, and I think the people I gave them to liked them as well! Success!!
When I make myself some coasters, I'll be sure to post them. They are also a fun, cheap, and easy gift idea if you would bundle them up in a pack of 4 or so. I just gave them out as an individual gift, since they were given to people who work at the high school I serve.
Happy Crafting!
