Life in the Craft Lane: Etched Christmas Lantern

Monday, December 18, 2017

Etched Christmas Lantern

I love pretty much anything that has to do with lights, especially around Christmas. Lanterns are pretty trendy right now, so I decided to breathe some new life into an old lantern that had been on the patio for a few years and give it some holiday pizazz!

Here's what I used and what I did:

etchall® etching crème
etchall® etchmask™ and transfer paper
Pik tool and squeegee

LED candle (I used a tree shaped one that changes color)
Ribbon
Christmas piks to embellish

1. Remove the glass pieces from the lantern, wash thoroughly then dry. Clean the lantern with a damp cloth.

2. I love to etch on both sides of a piece of glass for a dimensional look, so I uploaded the following designs into Cricut Design Space. These are my personal designs, but you may use them for personal projects. PNGs are available on my blog under Images for Personal Use.

3. Load etchmask onto a cutting mat then cut the designs. (I needed 2 sheets of etchmask for these designs.) You will need 4 sets of birch trees and one each of the additional designs. Turn the trees 90˚ to maximize each piece of etchmask. The glass pieces in my lantern measured 4" x 7", so the trees needed to be 7" tall. You will need to measure the size of the pieces of glass and size the designs accordingly for your project. The additional designs need to be sized relative to the size of the trees.

4. Weed the designs while still on the mat.

5. To determine the size to cut your "trees" stencil, place a piece of glass on top then cut out around the edge of the glass.

6. You can use the "trees" stencil as is, or cut the stencil to etch 2 trees on one side of the glass and the third on the other. Cut a piece of transfer paper the same size as the piece of glass, remove the backing paper then place on top of the stencil.

7. Use the squeegee to burnish the transfer paper firmly onto the stencil. I also use my finger to rub firmly around the edge of the design. Remove the stencil from the mat.

8. Slowly peel the backing from the etchmask. Do not discard, you can use this to protect uncovered areas of the glass while etching designs. Position the stencil on the glass then use the squeegee to smooth firmly in place. You can etch each piece of glass individually, or lay the pieces of glass side by side on a mat then etch one side of all four at one time.

9. Make sure that any part of the glass not to be etched is completely covered. Use scrap pieces of etchmask, painters tape, etc. to avoid accidental etching in unwanted areas.

10. Cover the design(s) with crème. Leave for 15 minutes then scrape the crème back into the container. Don't forget, etchall crème is reusable. Rinse away any remaining residue. DO NOT rinse over a porcelain sink. Etching crème will remove the glaze from many types of surfaces it comes into contact with. If you haven't used this product before, please read all the directions on the container and previous posts on this blog (search "etching"). You can also find video tutorials at www.etchall.com

11. Rinse away any remaining residue then remove the stencil. Buff the glass dry with a soft cloth.

12. Make sure your work surface is completely clean then place each piece of glass, etched side down on to the mat. Position the remaining stencils on the back of each piece, cover any open areas then etch the designs on the back of the glass in the same way.

13. Replace the glass pieces in the lantern.