Etched Pyrex

Keeping with the wedding gift theme, this post is all about how to etch a glass 9x12 Pyrex casserole dish. 

What I used: a 9x12 glass pyrex casserole dish, clear contact paper, Armour-Etch cream, an Xacto knife, a foam paint brush, a print out of the words you are trying to etch, and some newspaper to lay down underneath you. 

Unfortunately I don't have more step by step pictures, but I will do my best to explain.

After laying down newspapers under me, I set the pyrex upside down. The etching is done on the bottom of the pyrex, not on the inside. I printed out the last name "McAdam" in the largest size font that would fit on a 8.5x11" sheet of paper. I cut a box around the last name and figured out where on the pyrex would be the best place to etch. I didn't choose the middle since Pyrex put their name smack dab in the middle of the dish. Then, I took the clear contact paper and used it to secure the name cut out to the pyrex. Make sure there are no air bubbles when you stick the contact paper to the pyrex, it could mess with the shape of the letters.

Next comes the hardest part. Take an Xacto knife and cut out each of the letters. You have the paper cut out as the stencil, but the important part is to cut through the contact paper, since this will be what controls where the etching cream goes, and therefore where the etch appears. I think the cut out part took about 30-45 minutes. Make sure you take your time and try to make the cuts as smooth as possible. Once you've cut out a letter, peel away the contact paper so that the glass is exposed just around the cut out of the letter. Letters with middle areas, such as the A and the d in this case, are much more difficult. Be careful to keep the center triangle or circle (A and d, respectively) in tact so the letter turns out.

After you've outlined and peeled off all of the letter cut outs, it's time to etch! Take your spong brush and the etching cream and start dabbing it over the cut out letters. Make sure you cover all the letter areas evenly so that the etch turns out uniform. Also, be very careful not to get the etching cream on your hands! If you are worried, wear some gloves. Although I can't speak from experience, it is said that the etching cream is very acidic and can burn your skin. You've been warned!

I left the etching cream on for about 20 minutes before I washed it off under hot water. When I first started washing the cream off it didn't look like anything had happened! The etch was very subtle at first, but once you peel off the rest of the contact paper and see the free standing etch, it looks amazing!

This was my first try so there were some small noticeable errors I made in some of the letter cut outs, but as you can see, it isn't noticeable when you look at the dish from a foot or so away. Don't be too hard on yourself, and have fun with it!

Happy Etching!

Bridal Shower Cake

More "wedding season" appropriate crafts: a bridal shower cake!

Essentially, this is the bridal shower version of a diaper cake. If you have to give a gift, why not make it fun?!

For this bridal shower cake, I picked all items on the bride's registry at Bed Bath & Beyond. Here are the items I used: Oxo rotating utensil holder, 9.5" Pyrex pie dish, Bamboo utensil set, Calphalon dish cloth (wasabi), 2 Calphalon plaid kitchen towels (wasabi), purple silk ribbon, and a 4x4 box from the dollar tree.

The box from the dollar store was a blue gift box that came with a sparkly covered top. I had it in my gift wrapping box and it was the perfect size to hold the utensil holder at the second tier. You could use a lot of different things to do this - a cylindrical piece of foam, a few toilet paper rolls rubber banded together - be creative!

To build this, I took the dollar tree 4x4 box and turned it upside down on the middle of the pie dish. I then began wrapping the kitchen towels around the box to hide it. I took all the tags off - I felt confident doing this since the items were on her registry. I really only did it so that the end result looked cleaner, you can choose to leave them on. I wrapped 2 kitchen towels around the first tier and secured them with the purple ribbon you can see in the photo. Then, i stacked the utensil holder on top of the upside down dollar tree box and  filled it with the bamboo utensils. I folded the dish towel like a fan, and propped it up behind the utensils. 

The final thing I did was use a basket bag to wrap this up and keep everything held together. I recommend the one from the dollar tree - it works just fine and it's only a dollar!

I think I spent $40 on this gift overall (with the utilization of some bed bath and beyond coupons) and I think the presentation really classes up the gift. It also made it easier to buy a random selection of some of the lesser priced items on their registry and still be able to pull it all together nicely. 

Happy Bridal Shower-ing!