By Jennifer Perkins
Like most red blooded men out there, my husband enjoys an ice cold beer from time to time. Last year was his first Father’s Day so I whipped up a custom 6 pack of beer for him. This year I decided to continue with the beer theme (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), but upgraded things a bit.
No one keeps empty beer bottles, but a set of customized pint glasses are forever. This is especially true when those pint glasses have pictures of your kids on them (both animal and human ones).
Materials
Glass-etching cream
Craft knife
Self-healing cutting mat
Clear contact paper
Paint brush
Scotch tape
Computer
Printer
Profile pictures
Scissors
Directions
Step 1: You will need profile pictures in order to make your silhouettes. I tweaked my photos a bit in Photoshop. After I printed them I outlined them with a black marker. I made my images 3″ wide, but the size will depend on your particular glasses.
Step 2: Attach squares of contact paper (with the paper backing still attached) to a self-healing cutting mat using tape. Tape your silhouette on top of your contact paper.
Step 3: Using a craft knife, follow the lines of your image and cut it out. Be sure to press down hard enough to cut through both sheets of paper. When you are done, trim any rough edges with scissors.
Step 4: Peel the backing off your contact paper and attach it to the center of your glasses. Burnish the edges with your finger to make sure there is a nice tight seal.
Step 5: With a paint brush, apply glass-etching cream. Allow to sit 5 minutes and then wash off with water. Remove the contact paper and wash the glasses thoroughly.
Step 6: Now every time Chris has a cold beer, glass of chocolate milk, or ice water he will think of his fam: Lucy the old lady, Ella the mastiff, Georgie the cat, and Tallulah the baby.
About the Author:
Jennifer Perkins is a the crafty lady at the helm of the blog, book, and website Naughty Secretary Club. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, daughter, 2 large dogs, and cat.
20 thoughts on “How-To: Etched Glasses for Father’s Day”
Comments are closed.
I’ve thought about doing this, but where do you get the glass-etching cream?
That’s pretty retarded.
Would you suggest using a glass etching kit like this?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Deluxe-Glass-Etching-Kit/12347706
I love etching glasses! I made everyone etched sets! Thanks for sharing!
I just tried my hand at these for a Christmas gift. I am so grateful you posted this DIY Guide! Now that I have some experience under my belt, I’d like to add a few things that I learned:
1) Etching cream is available at your local hobby or craft store.
2) You can trace directly from your computer screen onto the contact paper with a marker. Since I don’t have a printer, this was a good option for me.
3) When applying the etching cream with a craft brush, less is more. I laid mine on thick because I thought it would yield a more significant etch. Instead, I followed the 5 minute wait time and it came out blotchy between etch and no etch. In retrospect, the cream probably needed more time to dry or set. I should have left it on for 10 or 15 minutes. Or applied a thinner coat to begin with.
Overall, I am really ecstatic about the result! While it was a little blotchy, it had a vintage flair that I appreciate.
When I applied the etching cream, it made the area around the picture look frosty and not the actual picture??
That is a really fun idea. Plus I know my husband would like it since it involves beer glasses.
These are the coolest engraved beer mugs I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
I was curious about how much this project would cost. Looks like a fun idea!
[…] source […]
[…] source […]
[…] DIY Etched Glasses […]
[…] Etched Beer Glasses – Thrift up some plain pint glasses for these simple DIY Christmas […]
[…] Whether your guy’s favorite drink is beer or water, he’s probably going to use a glass, right? Make it a special one by using glass etching paste (available at craft stores) to give him his own logo. Put his name on it, tell him he’s the #1 Dad, or use an image (here’s where a sports-loving dad makes things easy!). Get great and clear instructions in this classic post on Make. […]
[…] 8. Etched Father’s Day Glasses by MakeZine […]
[…] basket complete with a sampling of their favorites and maybe a special glass/mug/cup. Last year, we glass etched designs beer glasses for a couple of brothers which was pretty simple. I have also wanted to try my hand […]
Thanks for Sharing.
http://thinkingofyouboxes.com/product-category/large-box/
I love this gift idea for Father’s Day
http://www.glccraftmall.com
[…] Silhouette Etched Beer Glasses – Etch kid heads, dogs, cats, even dad’s truck onto a set of beer glasses. Go ahead and try your hand at making vinyl record coasters too. […]
[…] 3-Eyched Beer Glass […]