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    Home » Holidays » Gift Ideas

    Acid Etched Jars

    November 4, 2010 By Brandy 36 Comments

    Acid Etched Jars
    4 jars and a roll of contact paper on table

    (jars purchased at Walmart for $2.97/each)

    I remember making acid etched mirrors in high school and it was quite the labor intensive project. However, making acid etched projects with a cricut is so simple! The Young Women at our church recently did a Girl's Camp fundraiser and made acid etched plates to sell. They were a hit. My friend, Tanya, let me use a little bit of her acid etching to make a casserole dish for a wedding gift and these little jars. A little bit goes a long way. I hardly used anything and was able to make several fun gifts. Now I wish I had a bottle of my own so that I can make things for myself. Casserole dishes, jars....it's a bit addicting. I'll have to print out a 40% off coupon to Hobby Lobby and grab a bottle sometime.

    jars with contact paper stencil on front
    It is much cheaper to go to the Dollar Store or Walmart and buy shelf contact paper vs. buying a roll of white contact paper. It doesn't matter how it looks. You are just making your stencil from it. I used my cricut and cut out the letters and shapes, then placed them on my jars. Blade pressure was set to low. It can be a little tricky to make sure it goes on straight, but since the contact paper is reposition-able, you can do it over a few times until you get it right. Make sure there aren't any air bubbles and press it on tight. And make sure to leave a border of contact paper. You don't want your stencil to be too close to the edge of the paper. This allows enough room for you to apply your etching cream without it smearing or leaking over onto other areas of glass.
    jar with apple stencil from contact paper
     Generously apply the acid etching cream to the glass with a small paint brush. Covering the opening of your contact stencil entirely. I made one before and just brushed it on like I would paint. It didn't come out very solid, but very streaky. So pile it on there so that you can't see any glass through  it AT ALL.
    jar with acid etching cream over stencil
     Allow to sit for about 10 minutes (just follow the directions on your bottle) and then, using your brush, remove the excess cream and put it back into your bottle. You don't have to do this, but it sure makes the cream last longer. I was able to pretty much save all of it. Then run under water until rinsed completely. Take the contact paper off while running under the water and keep rinsing until you can't see or feel any of the grainy texture. Towel dry.
    jars with finished acid etched apple and bus designs
    These were hard to photograph, but turned out perfect.
    finished acid etched jar with apple design
    For jars, you etch on the FRONT so it goes left to right. No alterations needed. But if you would like to etch a glass plate that will be used for food or the bottom of a casserole dish, you can make a reversed stencil that will go on the BACK of the glass. To do this on your Cricut, use the "flip" feature. Then key in your lettering in reverse. For example, our name would go as follows:
    "FLIP" "NOSLEN" (for Nelson)
    Then you would apply your stencil to the back of the dish. This way, your dish will always have a smooth perfect finish on the front for serving and baking food on.
    acid etched jar filled with candy
    Now back to the jars...
    I went to Target and picked up a bunch of 50% off chocolate bags. Kisses, PB Cups, and mini candy bars. They were in fall colors, but for $1 bag, I couldn't beat that. I put a small piece of black construction paper behind the etching so that it stood out and didn't blend in with the candy. It also looks like a little chalkboard! Perfect for a teacher's gift!
    4 acid etched jars wrapped with ribbon
    large jar filled with chocolate candy
     This one is for my brother, who is getting married in December. I made this along with an etched casserole dish which I will post later in December when I finish everything for their wedding gift. It didn't photograph well, but it is a "K" with a fern/berry branch to the left. I love how it turned out!
    If you don't have a Cricut or a Silhouette, you can still do this. When I made my mirror in high school, I adhered  the contact paper to my mirror, transferred my images onto the contact paper using carbon paper (or you could just free hand), then cut out the contact paper using an exacto knife, taking out the centers and leaving the stencil.
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    About Brandy

    Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

    Comments

    1. Kathy says

      December 22, 2013 at 1:20 am

      We used this method at ou church Super Saturday craft day to etch nativity scenes on glass. We taped a silhouette of a simple nativity on the back of the glass then covered the front with clear contact paper. Use an exacto knife to trace the pattern on the contact paper and remove the pieces where you want the etching to appear. Use a liberal amount of etching cream. I like to leave it on extra long to get a solid etching. You can also get some excellent stencil books at Hobby Lobby to use to etch glass items of all sorts. You are only limited by your imagination.

      Reply
    2. Anonymous says

      March 20, 2013 at 9:19 pm

      And Troy, well, that's what our culture aspires to now - the children's story.
      It's been an Telefonsex exhausting trip of creative joy while suffering from a tragedy, then you should be able to produce as much as possible. He lives in his house in Hollywood where he is both president and publisher. Telefonsex was the last album for Grey-Star as Mike Grey, the other lead singer, left the band.

      Reply
    3. Anonymous says

      March 20, 2013 at 7:57 pm

      Likewise, prevent selecting gowns which have the actual big rear end bows.
      Susan Peters talked about her anger to Tonto when she said," Owww! pocket pussy never changes its mind.

      Stop by my weblog: fake vagina

      Reply
    4. Milliscent Morgan says

      February 14, 2013 at 10:50 pm

      This idea perfect to do it specially today giving lots of chocolates for your special someone inside the etched glass, very unique and cool idea right?

      Reply
    5. Beth (www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com) says

      December 05, 2011 at 12:17 pm

      Wow - this turned out SUPER cute! I love this idea!! Thanks for linking up to tGIF! See you Friday =)
      Beth

      Reply
    6. Jamie H says

      December 03, 2011 at 5:41 pm

      Such a great idea! I was wondering what type of thing to get my daughter's bus driver! Just might have to use this idea! I'd love for you to link up and share it with our readers at Toys In The Dryer!
      http://www.toysinthedryer.com/2011/12/fun-stuff-fridays-2.html

      Reply
    7. G Inspires says

      November 30, 2011 at 7:00 pm

      These are so neat! Now I need a cricut! Thanks for sharing, I'm now your newest follower via The Creative Spark

      Reply
    8. Rosie says

      November 29, 2011 at 2:11 pm

      This is slow clever! I wonder if you can buy the substance in the UK. Is there something I should search for?

      Would be brilliant if you could share this at my Christmas Link up - happening now at:

      http://twelvecraftsofchristmas.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-link-party-no3.html

      Would be great to see you there!

      Rosie x

      Reply
    9. Mandy says

      November 28, 2011 at 4:48 pm

      GREAT IDEA! These are adorable. I'd love it if you shared these at a party that I'm having at Project Queen! Here is the link if you are interested.
      http://projectqueen.org/christmas-gifts-and-ornaments-for-10-or-less-blog-hop-3

      I'm a new follower.

      Reply
    10. Laura V. says

      November 28, 2011 at 1:38 pm

      Lovely!

      I haven't read through all of the comments but I bet this would also work really well on those clear, glass "create-your-own" type Christmas ornaments. I might have to try it out!

      Reply
    11. chaos and love says

      February 14, 2011 at 2:04 am

      What a great idea! I will be making these for teacher gifts this spring!

      Reply
    12. what is oh, buckets? what will you find here? says

      January 11, 2011 at 4:15 pm

      found this at Christmas-time and can't wait to try it! linking to it from my Facebook page today...

      Reply
    13. Tanoi says

      January 11, 2011 at 6:36 am

      I love this idea. My friend just had a baby and I etched the baby's name with an owl underneath (which matched his nursery's theme), and we are going to punch a hole in the lid to make it into a piggy bank. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    14. Robin says

      January 05, 2011 at 1:03 pm

      Ya know I've wanted to try the etching for a long time, but everything I've seen has been a bit "fru-fru" for my taste. But this is perfect! I love those jars I use them in my pantry for chocolate, white chocolate and butterscotch chips...wonder if I could etch:
      Butterscotch Chips on the front???
      Love it~
      Robin
      All Things Heart and Home

      Reply
    15. Autum says

      December 13, 2010 at 3:20 pm

      Great gift idea and great tutorial. I'd love it if you'd link up over at my blog. I'm hosing a party for Cricut and Silhouette projects. Link as many projects as you'd like.
      http://www.creativelittledaisy.typepad.com

      Reply
    16. Mary S says

      December 08, 2010 at 2:30 pm

      Just wanted you to know I figured out that the soap bottle was not etched and followed your links. What a great project.

      Reply
    17. Grateful for Grace says

      December 08, 2010 at 5:13 am

      Dang! You make me want to craft and that's saying a lot. Wish I could figure out how to do with without a Cricut machine. Will be pondering.

      Reply
    18. Mary S says

      December 06, 2010 at 3:15 pm

      Love this! I just fell in love with my cricut and am excited to try this out with it. I do have a question for you though. How did you get the liquid soap etching to be black? I especially love that idea. Seeing as I home school it is not necessary for me to make my son's teacher a Christmas gift. Although you no what I may anyway heck I deserve a gift too. lol

      Reply
    19. Mary S says

      December 06, 2010 at 3:13 pm

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Reply
    20. michele says

      November 30, 2010 at 2:16 am

      such a cute idea! i have some jars just laying around.....i think i'll give this a try! they'd also be cute with a little votive or tealight in them as candleholders with maybe just a monogram on the front!

      Reply
    21. craftymamablog says

      November 27, 2010 at 11:14 pm

      I used your tutorial to make my own! Go ahead and grab a "feature" button if you'd like! Thanks for the great tutorial!
      http://thecraftymamablog.blogspot.com/2010/11/glass-etching.html

      Reply
    22. LambAround says

      November 27, 2010 at 6:02 pm

      These turned out perfectly! I just found your blog and am loving all your fun ideas 🙂

      If you get a chance, I'd love for you to come link up on my blog hop!

      Reply
    23. Marie {Make and Takes} says

      November 27, 2010 at 12:57 am

      What great jars! Fun gift idea!

      Reply
    24. Grammy Goodwill says

      November 13, 2010 at 12:23 am

      I love the jars. My daughter has a cricut, so maybe I'll supply the etching cream and we'll have a joint project to work on. Good job.

      Reply
    25. Courtney {a thoughtful place} says

      November 11, 2010 at 12:58 am

      Gosh, those are so cute. I love those jars {even without the gorgeous work} Thanks for the tutorial.

      Reply
    26. Kathleen says

      November 09, 2010 at 6:39 pm

      Thank you for the great tutorial! I was trying to decide on a way to make "jarred" gifts a bit more special this year, and this would definitely do the trick.

      Reply
    27. malia says

      November 08, 2010 at 1:43 pm

      Thank you-- I have been wanting to do something similar and wasn't sure how it all worked. I'm your newest follower. Would love for you to check my blog out too. And I co-host a linky party on Thursday http://www.yesterdayontuesday.com... we'll love for you to join us! Malia

      Reply
    28. spencers says

      November 08, 2010 at 1:26 am

      Great tutorial - and fantastic idea!

      Reply
    29. mindy says

      November 07, 2010 at 10:59 am

      Great tutorial! I cant wait to try it!

      Reply
    30. An Experiment in Happiness says

      November 06, 2010 at 2:56 pm

      They look great! What a wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing.
      ~Jessica

      Reply
    31. Please Do Not Feed The Animals. says

      November 05, 2010 at 7:35 pm

      They look fantastic! What a brilliant idea. I am so in awe of you. I am amazed that you have the time and energy to make all these gifts too. Thank you for inspiring me.

      Reply
    32. Lisa F says

      November 05, 2010 at 1:51 am

      Etching is fun! I have done a few projects - need to pull out my etching cream again soon! These turned out great! Your tutorial was fantastic too.

      Reply
    33. Stephanie says

      November 04, 2010 at 11:41 pm

      Those look so nice! Your teachers will definitely appreciate those gifts and treasure them for a very long time! (And you know all the teachers in Dallin's future will be hoping for something similar because they all chit chat about this kind of stuff in the teacher's lounge!!) What cute gifts!

      Reply
    34. Brooke says

      November 04, 2010 at 9:26 pm

      those turned out so cute! I might need to use this idea for Ashtyn's preschool teacher.

      Reply
    35. Katie says

      November 04, 2010 at 8:26 pm

      a very f-etch-ing idea! great for kids teacher apperciation gift! thanks for inspiring!

      Reply
    36. staci @ lizard n ladybug says

      November 04, 2010 at 7:28 pm

      the jars turned out great! I was thinking about making some as gifts this year too! I love Armour Etch..so easy to use!

      Reply

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