Welcome to Day 1 of my 12 Days of Cricut Christmas Crafting. This is a glass etching project I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. I’ve seen photos of personalized dishes and so I wanted to try glass etching on bakeware.
Previously, I had done a lot of glass etching on stemless wine glasses. You can read all about that here. Now I wanted to try something similar, but a bit bigger.
Where to Get Your Bakeware
I wanted to etch glass bakeware. This could be a casserole dish or a pie plate. Just make sure it’s glass.
There are a number of sources for glass bakeware. While many kitchen stores carry glass bakeware, you may also find certain pieces from your local dollar store.
A word of warning – Ikea glass bakeware DOES NOT seem to etch at all. My first attempt was on a square-shaped oven dish with handles, called the Foljsam. After an hour, there wasn’t even the slightest bit of etching. So stick to other brand name stuff like Anchor Hocking.
Certain brands have their own logo imprinted on the bottom of the bakeware item. You may wish to take that into consideration when picking out glass bakeware.
I found a variety of glass bakeware pieces at my local dollar store. These will make great gifts.
Glass Etching on Bakeware
Previously to do some glass etching, I used Tub and Tile Etching cream from my local hardware store.
The good people at Etchall were kind to send me some of their products to try out. One of the items was the Glass Etching Bee-ginner Kit.
This kit contained:
- etchall etching creme
- an etchall squeegee
- an etchall detail pick
- a piece of Oracal 651 vinyl to be used to cut out a stencil
- a transfer sheet to transfer the stencil to the item
How to Prepare Your Stencil
I am going to do the glass etching on the underside of the bakeware item. This way, the etching will not come in contact with the food. The inside of the bakeware will remain intact while the etching will be underneath. My reasoning for this would be that I doubt that etching cream is food safe and so I wouldn’t want it to come in contact with food (even though it is removed and washed – it’s best to be on the safe side). Also, since glass etching is essentially eating away at the glass, I want to make sure that the interior integrity is fine since it does come in contact with food.
Since the glass etching is on the underside, therefore it will be seen from inside the dish. In order to achieve this, you will need to mirror your image before cutting.
I prepared my stencil using my Cricut Maker.
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I designed my stencil around the middle marking. You can arrange your design around the inner logo.
Since I was working around that circle, I ungrouped my text so that I could arrange each letter individually.
Once I was happy with my design, I attached my letters in small groups – this makes it easier to arrange on the bakeware once it’s been cut out. I find it easier to weed when it is attached, rather than welded because it is easier to weed individual letters.
When you go to cut out your stencil, don’t forget to mirror.
TIP: as mentioned, I attached my individual words. Space these out on the mat so that there is space around each word. I find it easier to not only transfer it this way but also it makes it easier when there is some space around the words.
After it’s been cut out, I used the etchall detail pick to weed it. You want to remove the actual design or letters. This is where the etching cream will go and etch the glass.
Step by Step Process for Glass Etching on Bakeware
- Lay some newspaper down to make clean up easier.
- Prepare your bakeware item by cleaning with rubbing alcohol. Make sure there are no fingerprints or sticky residue from a price tag.
- Using the transfer tape, apply your stencil to the bakeware. Since I cut it out in separate pieces, it was easier to position.
- You can cover any exposed glass with painter’s tape. This prevents any stray drip to accidentally etch areas you don’t want etched.
- Apply the etchall cream on the actual stencil (not directly on the glass).
- Using the etchall squeegee, distribute it evenly, all at once on to the areas that need to be etched.
- You’ll want a decent, thick coat on everything. The instructions say to do it as you would ice a cake. You can’t have too much – so be generous. It’s reusable.
- Wait 15 minutes for the etchall to work it’s magic.
- Carefully scrape off the etching cream and put it back in the bottle.
- Then I use a paper towel to wipe it clean.
- Give it a good rinse with water and peel off the stencil and tape.
The End Result & My Thoughts
I must say that the etchall product is remarkably easy to use. Really – you just need to plop it on and let it do its work. The resulting etch is very even and consistent. This is important.
I tried etching using stencil vinyl and I found it quite fiddly to work with. Stencil vinyl is thinner and I’ve used it for painting wooden signs. I think that because of the nature of the design (curved and in sections) it makes it too fiddly to work with. I would recommend either permanent (Avery or Oracal 651 or equivalent) or removable vinyl (Oracal 631). I previously purchased a variety pack of permanent vinyl and have a bunch of colours that I don’t really use so I’ve been using that.
I really like how glass etching on bakeware turned out. These are going to make great gifts. I intend to fill the dishes with some sort of dessert or side dish to take as a hostess gift. That way the recipient can keep the leftovers, as well as the dish. They’ll be in for a nice surprise when they wash the dish!
Thanks again to the good people at etchall for providing me with this product. They provided this product for free. The opinions in this post are my own.
