Thursday, March 16, 2017

Etching with etchall®

If you follow my blog, you'll know how much I love working with glass. I even took a class on glass cutting about 25 years ago, but soon realized that that wasn't for me. I think it had something to do with the band aid in the supply kit...

I first met "etchall Barbee" at the Arts & Crafts trade show in the early 90's. I also loved decorative painting and fell in love with the idea of being able to paint on an etched glass surface.  The prep work was so much easier and a lot faster than sanding and sealing wood.......   Since that time,  I've created a number of etched glass pieces, so I thought I'd share a variety of ideas and techniques to inspire and encourage your itch to etch.....   Most of them have been featured here on my blog, so if you'd like detailed, step by step instructions, enter "etched glass" in the search bar and they should come up.  Let's go!


1.  Let's start with some dip'n etch projects that are quick and easy.

 

I love colored glass, so I picked up some colored glass pieces from the dollar store and even found a couple on the clearance shelf at my local supermarket. You can also find them at your local craft store, but make sure you have a coupon.....   The challenge with some colored glass pieces is that it isn't colored glass at all. More often than not, it's clear glass with a colored coating on the outside - can't be etched - on the outside, but you can etch the inside!  You can tell if it's coated by looking at the bottom.  If the glass is color coated, the bottom will be clear.  If it's colored glass, the bottom will be colored too - like a wine bottle.  

Check out these glass pieces before and after etching them on the inside.  Always wash and dry glass pieces thoroughly first, then simply fill with dip'n etch liquid.  Leave for 15 minutes, then pour the dip'n etch back into the container.  Quick'n EZPZ....

   

And these were decorated with beads...  The mason jar is colored glass, so it can be etched on the inside or the outside, or both.

 

This painted vase was also etched on the inside, I simply filled it to the brim with dip'n etch.  

 
The pieces below were etched on the outside by immersing in a plastic container that was just a little larger than the pieces.  The heart shaped bottle looks like sea glass. I etched the milk bottle so I could paint the cherries on it.

     

The mason jars were also immersed in a container of dip'n etch.  (I used an empty soda bottle a little larger than the mason jar for this.)  The designs were created using a star punch and strips of etchmask™ used for creating your own stencils.  For the votives and wine bottle, I used Peel Off star stickers. The light comes from a light stick in the wine bottle.

 

    

Here are some more etched bottles using dip'n etch.  They each have an LED tea light under their hat.

  

And here's a glass plate I etched so I could paint it with regular acrylic paint. This is just one of the projects featured in my book, Garden of Glassware, a decorative painting book by Leisure Arts.


2. These projects were etched with etching cream.

 
 
I designed and cut my own stencils for these using etchmask and my Cricut Explore. 

 

   

       

 

I etched the candlestick bases with star stickers (negative etch) then placed a small, multi colored LED tea light under the base of the candlestick. I loved how the stars reflected on the wall. You can see the base design on the second photo.  The top is a light shade kit, also from etchall.

 

The feathery look on the painted plate and the rim of the cookie plate was created by using a sea sponge to dab the etching cream onto the surface.
 
 

 

And here's etching on china. The pig was placed in dip'n etch and the letter M was etched onto the center of the plate with cream then enhanced with gold rub'n buff. The Aloha sign is etched slate.  The lantern has a different design etched on each side of each piece of glass which gave it a dimensional effect.

  

      

I used the same layering technique for the winter frame.  4 individual designs were etched on both sides of 2 pieces of glass which were then layered in a float frame......

     

I hope you enjoyed this round up of etched designs and will try some etching yourself.  You'll be amazed how professional your projects will look - perfect for your own home, or to give as a gift.  Don't forget to use the code on the Designer Crafts blog for a special discount.  Enjoy!

Y'all come back now............

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!



Thursday, March 9, 2017

St Patrick's Day

It's almost St. Patrick's day, the day to raise a glass (Guinness is good), tuck into a meal of corned beef and celebrate!  By the way, you don't have to be Irish to join in the fun...... Cheers!


To create a banner for your celebration you'll need the following supplies:


Joy Embroidered Letters
12" x 20" Piece of canvas fabric
3 Pieces of felt - Dark Green, Medium Green and Light Green
Sticky back black felt
Fabric glue
3/8" Gold ribbon
Gold Metal stickers 
Brass brad
Black marker
Scissors
Green jute
12" Dowel (or cardboard tube from a coat hangar)
12" Decorative ribbon

1. Cut canvas fabric to size.  Note: I use a canvas drop cloth from the hardware store. It is inexpensive and the perfect weight for decorative banners and garlands.

2. Use the patterns as guides to cut the shape of the hat from medium green felt, 3 light green shamrocks,  2 dark green shamrocks and a 7" x 1.75" rectangle of black felt.  Glue the black felt to the hat. 

 

      

3.  To create the shamrock for the hat, cut along the lines as indicated then place the small shamrock on top of the large one.  Poke a hole through the center hold together with the brad.


4. Create a buckle for the hat band with the gold ribbon. Cut two, 2" pieces and two 1.5" pieces. Glue in the shape of a rectangle at the center of the black hat band.  Iron the letters on the brim of the hat then glue the shamrock in place.  Glue the hat to the banner.

  

5.  Create additional shamrocks using the same patterns.  Cut the shapes, then cut all the way through the center on the cut lines to create 4 hearts.  Create the additional shamrocks by gluing 3 hearts together at the base. Glue to the banner then add a gold metal embellishment to the base of each one.  Draw stitch lines from the shamrock  with a black marker. 

6.  Create a border with 12" pieces of ribbon. A narrower decorative ribbon was glued on top of a wider 12" piece of ribbon then embellished with gold, nail head stickers.  Glue to the banner about 2" from the bottom.

 

7.  Fold 2" over at the top of the canvas then glue to create a casement for the dowel, or cardboard tube.  Tie the ends of the jute to each end of the dowel to create a hangar or, if using a cardboard tube, thread the jute through the center then tie the ends together at the top.



May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back. 
May the sun shine warm upon your face; 
the rains fall soft upon your fields 
and until we meet again, 
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Traditional Gaelic blessing.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!