Personalized Wedding Gift? Armour Etch It

When a young couple gets married they are filled with big dreams and want to set their mark on the world-- to be able to say "we lived!  And we left this world a better place!"  And just how do they do this?  Well, with food, of course.  Making manicotti or pie for a neighbor or friend (especially if I'm that neighbor or friend beneficiary. ;) ).  What better way is there to say "we love you"?

                                

Okay, so in reality there are obviously a lot of ways that a couple may choose to leave their mark on the world and/or show friendship from time to time, BUT, with this simple wedding gift idea, they are literally able to leave their mark where they go without losing their pie or casserole dish in the process. ;) And we all know that times come up when we will be bringing food to someone else's home, whether it be for a party, family get together, or just to bring to a neighbor who is sick.  Doing this with your clear glass baking dishes helps take a whole lot of guesswork out of "who's dish is who's?" at the end of the day.

For this project, I decided to etch my soon-be-married-friend's new last name onto a pie dish that she and her fiance has registered for.  I also added a lovely flourish design on the bottom, just to make it cute.  This way, whenever they bring this dish, brimming full of delicious food to a church activity or family gathering, they'll always know what dish was theirs when the night is over and all the dishes washed clean.

You will need: Armour Etch cream, which we sell on our website, www.makeitscrappin.com (didn't know we sold accessories like this, now did you?), a glass dish or item, some vinyl or a stencil, and a brush.  Gloves are also highly recommended for use while applying and rinsing the cream.  

Flip your words so that they appear correctly
when looking at the dish held normally

Note: When choosing your glass, be sure that you read the Armour Etch instructions carefully.  It does not work on all Pyrex, so you may want to test it on an inconspicuous area first.  Also, because of the nature of what the cream is actually doing to do the glass, you will likely want to do this on surface of the dish that will not be coming in contact with drink or food, as it may cause discoloration to the etched portion of the dish.  Thus, I put my image on the bottom of the dish I was etching (or on the outside of a cup, etc.).  I just had to reverse the name, which I will explain next.

After picking a thick enough font, I reversed the image so that their name could be clearly read through the dish (i.e. looking down on a clean dish).  In my Silhouette Studio I went to "Object, Transform, Flip Horizontally".  That easy.

Next, cut your image.  I prefer to cut my image on vinyl because it sticks to the surface I am etching without leaving room for any of the cream to really creep under my vinyl stencil and blur the edges of the design.  You can do this using a plastic stencil as well by taping the stencil to the surface of the glass to etch, but be sure your surface is flat and that it is taped very tightly.  Note: If using your Silhouette, be sure to save a little space around the edge of your image so that you have a little bit of "give" room to apply your etching cream over the stencil without it going over the edge.  (AKA, don't trim your vinyl as close to your cut image as you can so as to save it--give yourself a little room.  You don't really need much, but it's just a good way to play it safe.)

Now, to use your vinyl as a stencil, simply hook out the actual cut image, in this case, the letters themselves.  What you are left with is your own custom-made stencil! Good job.  Be sure to take account for the unattached pieces, such as the insides of letters or intricate designs.  You'll want to consider using transfer tape to apply your full stencil if you have a lot of these, or you can use your Silhouette Pick Me Up tool to "pick-up" and then carefully place those pieces back into place one you've applied the main stencil to your glass surface.  (We have all these supplies on our website, www.makeitscrappin.com, so check it out.)

                                     

Place the stencil on the bottom of your dish.  Be sure to press out all air-bubbles near your stencil before applying the cream (i.e. don't leave it like my 'n' featured above.  I had to press that out before I started application)

                               
Next, put on plastic or rubber gloves if you have them, and apply a generous amount of the Armour Etch cream with a brush over the stenciled word/image.  Leave it on for 10-15 minutes, and then rinse clean! Voila.

Unfortunately, light etchings into glass are a bit hard to photograph with a simple point and shoot camera, so I don't have the best picture of the finished product, but you get the idea!  Super cute and easy, personalized wedding gift!