It’s been a crazy week around here, and it literally just occurred to me yesterday that Father’s Day is already this weekend! So I whipped up a last-minute DIY project for my husband, who is a huge Star Wars fan. If you have a Silhouette machine, you’ll be able to replicate this design in under 15 minutes – and if not, you can still print it, trace it, and cut it with scissors or a craft knife.
If you have a Silhouette cutting machine but haven’t gotten into vinyl yet, it’s really easy. First of all – you can use any font that’s on your computer. And if you don’t already have the perfect one, there are some great free font sites out there where you can download new ones. This one is called “Star Jedi” and I found it on dafont.com. I just made a simple text cut to fit the glass.
I’m not going to go through a Silhouette tutorial today; there are some much better resources out there that will walk you through all the functions and features. I am really just pointing out that instead of vinyl lettering, you can use the rest of your cut as a great stencil for etching!
You just need glassware, etching cream (I like Armour Etch), a paintbrush, a scrap of craft vinyl, and however you plan to cut it.
Use the outer cut of the stencil, and place it on your glassware. Make sure you save all those “islands” inside A’s, D’s, R’s, O’s and any other letter that’s missing those little bits. You can use a placement tool, or just a toothpick or the end of your paintbrush to help place them exactly where they need to go.
If you have any wrinkles near your lettering, smooth it down as firmly as possible. You can use a spatula tool, or I just use my fingernail.
Then, just paint on your etching cream. You want a nice thick coat. Gloves are really advised here, but I work with it a lot and I just worked really carefully; it doesn’t drip, so it isn’t too messy.
Check the instructions on your cream to see how long you need to let it work, but I give mine extra time. I normally leave mine on for about 10 minutes.
Then, just rinse with plenty of water, remove your stencil, and you’re finished!
You can use any theme, and any type of glassware! It works great for movie-themed, comic-themed, or sports-themed phrases, just browse the fonts available out there, and see what catches your eye! You can make this project in about 15 minutes (plus your cutting time) so it’s a great last-minute project. In case you’re like me, and just finally getting around to making something, haha.
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend with the dads in your lives!
I would like to gratitude for sharing such a great information with us here. I am looking the best gifts for my dad, but after reading your article, I have decided that I will give an etching glasses gifts to my dad. I will share this post on my social networks.
Sorry to be asking a question everybody else knows the answer to, but this is a craft I never did. Is that sticky-backed vinyl? If so, very nifty!
Yes! There’s a paper backing to it that you can also trace designs onto and cut out instead, which is especially handy if you don’t have a cutting machine. (If you trace on the back, just be sure to reverse your design, since it’s the back side and not the front.)
There are no silly craft questions, just the beginning of new addictions. ;) Haha!