DIY Mother’s Day Etched Vase

I love to etch glass.  It looks amazing and I love the reaction I get when people find out I did it myself.  There are so many glass items you can customize with etching: glasses, plates, vases, mirrors…the list could go on and on.  Today, I’m showing how to make this etched glass vase for Mother’s Day.  It’s another quick and easy project that you can make with your Silhouette or Cricut.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO

Start by measuring the width of the side of your vase.  If you have a round vase, just measure to get an idea of what size you want the longest word to be.  Then, open the design in your software program.  Make sure the longest word is just a little shorter than the width of your vase.

After everything is sized correctly, cut out the vinyl with your cutting machine and weed away the excess vinyl.

Use a weeding tool to remove the centers of the letters.

Cut a piece of transfer tape a little bigger than the design and place over the vinyl.  Rub over the design to help it stick to the transfer tape.

Then, cut apart the words.

Before you apply the words to your glass vase, make sure you have cleaned it and removed any grease or fingerprints.

Remove the vinyl backing off one of the words.

Then, place it where you want on the vase.  I just barely set the word on the vase.  Just enough that it stayed in place, but I could pull it off and move it if necessary.  I left the transfer tape on until all the words were on and I was happy with how everything looked.

Repeat this process on all sides of the vase.  The SVG file includes 24 different words so you can do as many or as few words as you like.

Once everything looks good, rub over all the letters with your thumb to help them stick to the vase.  Then, remove the transfer tape.

I added a strip of vinyl around the lip of the inside so I would have a nice clean line for the etching cream.

Put on your gloves and start applying the etching cream to the vase.  It’s best to dab it on so the cream doesn’t get under the vinyl.  I like to put it on thick, almost enough that you can’t see the vinyl letters and I usually leave it on for about 5-10 minutes.  About halfway through, I’ll use the brush and move the cream around, just to be sure everywhere is coated.

Once the time is up, I like to use a brush and carefully remove most of the cream.  I put it back in the bottle so I can use it again.

Take the jar to your sink and rinse off.

I like to use hot water to rinse and then I use my thumb to rub over the letters.  The hot water helps the vinyl to come off and then it sticks to the glove.  If there are letters that don’t come off, you can use a weeding tool to remove them.

Once you dry the vase, the letters will start to show up.  Then, you can fill the vase with flowers, succulents, or even candy.  Isn’t it pretty?  What would you put in an etched vase?

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