Life in the Little Yellow House: DIY Etched Glass

As a result of my first Saturday off work (yay!), I thought I'd spend some time with my sweet husband. Instead he had plans to scream at the tv for four hours during the Ironbowl... Plan B was to enjoy the sunshine we've had so little of recently.
One of the many reasons I loathe winter time is the dreary skies & shorter days that keep me from piddling in my garden or finding projects to tackle outside. Instead I'm forced indoors & I quickly get stir crazy (or just watch endless hours of Bravo).

So I decided to take advantage of the warm, sunny afternoon & tackle a couple of projects. First, I began a vanity revamp (blogpost to come later). After the sun dropped, the cooler temperatures ran me inside but not before I could fish a few items out of my craft tubs in the garage attic. About a year ago I found this tutorial for homemade etched glass on Pinterest and decided it was time to attempt it.

I had previously saved several pickle jars for a project for our wedding back in March but ended up not using them. I had tinted them blue with food coloring & Mod Podge for a Mason jar-esque(?) look. I pulled a couple of these out along with a few small jars I had saved from hand cremes, moisturizers, etc. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to etch onto these but decided to just try something simple to find out if it worked or not. Turns out it was fairly easy & I may attempt it again soon when I have a better idea of what I want to etch.

Tools required:

glass jars of your choosing
masking tape (I'd recommend a wider roll but this was all I could find at Hobby Lobby)
sharpie or pen
paintbrush
gloves
X-acto knife
Armour Etch

First step is to place a strip of tape down onto the glass. Make sure you use your fingernail or a credit card to press the tape against the jar well. This will ensure you have a good seal, otherwise the etching solution will leak underneath the tape & your lettering will just be a big blob.

Next step is to sketch out whatever design or wording you want to etch. Tip: make sure it is large enough with minimal detailing (unless you're more patient than I am). The more complex & smaller your design, the more difficult & tedious your cutting will be in the next step. I learned this the hard way...

After you've sketched out your wording, you're ready to cut. Trace the lines of your letters with the X-acto knife and peel off the tape.

Once you've peeled all the lettering off, you're ready to apply the etching cream. Note: Apparently this etching solution is extremely intense & will burn your skin off with contact. Ok- that may or may not be true. All I know is that it has an age restriction for usage (18+) & has a giant warning that states it will cause burns. As such, I used a set of latex gloves to prevent my accident prone self. Once you've taken the necessary steps to protect yourself, slap on that solution with your paintbrush. Lay it on thick over the cut outs.