Pin Reaper: rachaelbstar
My Blog: http://blog.rachaelbstar.ca/
Twitter: twitter.com/rachaelbstar
Original Inspiration: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/97742254386666930/, image via http://www.goodguycomics.com/servlet/the-3053/Super-Soldier-Etched-Glass/Detail
What I Did: I was trying to come up with a homemade gift idea for my boyfriend on our first anniversary (yay!) and stumbled upon the Super Soldier logo on Pinterest, and wanted to do the same for the Gypsy Danger Logo from Pacific Rim.
The logos look similar, so I figured it was a great idea, found a few tutorials, namely the youtube video below, and went to buy all the supplies:
- Martha Stewart Frost Etch Effect paint (DO NOT BUY- READ FURTHER AND I WILL TELL YOU WHY)
- Standard craft paint brush
- Vinyl shelf adhesive, white (clear was too expensive for my measly budget)
- Pint glass
- exacto knife
So I get home, have a hell of a time cutting out stencils by themselves on the vinyl. I used a lot of printer ink and encountered many paper jams during this time. I refered back to the youtube video and realized I’d been cutting out the stencil wrong for FOUR. HOURS. As it says in the video, of which I completely forgot about, it is a good idea to stick the vinyl adhesive ON to the glass and have a printout stencil taped INSIDE the glass to trace. And lo and behold, it worked wonderfully.
But this isn’t the end of my saga.
After cutting out the stencil, I paint it with the Martha Stewart frost etch effect paint, wait 5 minutes like the video said, rinsed the glass and there was nothing on the glass. what the eff. I try again for 20 minutes instead-nothing. Not even a small etch to the glass. I try one more time and leave the paint on for an hour and still, no avail. I finally Googled it and learned that the Frost Etch Effect paint is just that-PAINT. It isn’t an acid and I was led on by the staff at Michaels, the Martha Stewart website, and Amazon.ca that this was legit etching cream.
DAMN YOU MARTHA STEWART!!!!!!
So the next day I go back to Michaels, return the paint disguised as etch cream, and bought a bottle of Armor Etch. I recut my stencil I have now become an expert at making, and put the etch cream on. After 20 minutes, which I thought would be ample time for the cream to set as I had the worst luck with the first lying-etch cream. It worked amazingly. I could not be more happy with the way it turned out!
It is now my Boyfriend’s favourite pint glass 
My Result:
Advice For Others: Youtube Video I followed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzSFxpW0ab4 After nearly 10 hours of working on the stupid thing, I am an expert of how (not) to etch glass. I highly recommend following the goofy-haired man’s youtube video because after listening and watching intently (after what felt like hundreds of trial-and-errors), everything turned out beautifully!
DO NOT BUY THE MARTHA STEWART FROST ETCH EFFECT CREAM! IT IS LYING TO YOU!
Comments on this post
It says right on Michael’s website that “Martha Stewart Crafts™ Frost Etching Effect is a paint that can be used alone or tinted with Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Acrylic Craft Paints to create the look of etched designs on ceramic or glass surfaces.” Not sure how they are lying, when they come right out and say it is PAINT to create the LOOK of etched glass. I’m glad you figured out how to etch glass correctly in the end, but I wouldn’t say that your failure to purchase the correct product makes this a pinterest fail.
19. February - 1:45 pmMy husband wants the glass you etched. He seriously thinks it looks amazing! Well done.
19. February - 6:04 pmI think your glass turned out fabulously and agree with the Pinterest fail.
When someone is learning a new craft, we have to rely on the staff at craft places, etc. to recommend the correct product and since it was recommended on the list of materials needed to make the final product, then that looks like it qualifies as a fail when the product does not accomplish what it is intended for.
20. February - 7:48 amKudos to you for not giving up! I might have had a cry and just bought a 6 pack instead lol!
20. February - 10:19 amFor future reference, I do this project as gifts all the time, and the easy way to avoid all that stencil cutting is to paint onto the class with puffy paint. The glass etching stuff will not eat through it, and it peels right off when you are finished. You can trace right through the glass, and do not have to cut a stencil! If you are doing words, you can use stickers, too.
21. February - 8:47 amYou have to remember that the staff at a craft store aren’t necessarily crafty people, or if they are, their craft might not be what you are interested in and all they know is what the package says. They may not know any more about crafts than the folks at your grocery store know about growing vegetables or the clerk where you buy clothes knows about making clothes.
24. February - 2:25 pmBut you are a better woman than me if you stuck with it for that many hours!
I am loving this site and and learning from other people’s errors. Thank you for sharing this. I am seeing so any rude people criticizing other people’s error stat created the Pinterest “failure”. Yet I am sure they are not experts. We earn by trial and error! Your final result looks great!
27. February - 9:00 amI have used the Martha Stewart etching cream myself several times and nothing could be easier in the world to use and it looks great when done. I leave it on for literally 2 minutes, and the glass comes out perfectly etched.
21. May - 11:23 am