DIY Glass Etching

This pin shows you how to etch glass using a product you can find at Michael’s, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, etc. – Armour Etch.  I grabbed an old glass vase and set up shop on the kitchen island. First I tried to tape a stencil onto the glass, but that was a catastrophe:Etch Glass

Etch Glass

Fail number one.

Then I tried putting some painter’s tape on a cutting board, and cutting out the letter.

Etch Glass

 

Etch Glass

Etch Glass

After doing a few letters (trying to spell my sister’s last name then giving up after the ST and doing another S) and rinsing it off, I had this:

Etch Glass

Fail number two. So I flipped it over and tried again. I thought perhaps I would get a better result if I covered a larger surface area. When in doubt, make sh!t up. Yeah.

Etch GlassEtch Glass Etch Glass

A resounding “eh.” Less than spectacular. Certainly not something I would give as a gift (sorry, Steph!). Fail number three.

I was about to write this post, and in doing so, I linked to the Armour Etch page. It states that it will NOT work on Pyrex or plastices. Well … duh! Everyone knows that (sarcasm font). Since I have no idea if my cheap vase is Pyrex or plastice (?) I realized it was worthwhile to try a different glass. Enter my “good wine glass” – that I am currently drinking out of (not the one I etched, of course. The wine would have spilled – the horror!).

I first needed a large enough sticker to cut a shape out of. I found some address labels and a random item in our “put-all-your-crap-in-this-glass-bowl-by-the-door” treasure trove, and traced its outline.  Please note that all previous pictures in this post were taken with the old camera, and the following pictures were taken with the new camera.  Quite an improvement!

DSC_0230 Etch Glass

I know what you are thinking – this girl’s got mad tracing skills! (I know, right?!) I stabbed my creation in the middle and cut out the center:

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When I went to put it on the glass, I did it in sections, and realized the entire sticker was too large for the glass, and would not go on as a perfect square due to the shape of the glass.  So I improvised, and kinda liked the way it ended up.

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You might notice that I failed to glob the etching cream in the center of the “P.” I did not notice at first, but I suspect it is because I was simultaneously playing a vigorous game of tug-o-war (let’s face, I am a master of multi-tasking! Plus this was a bit of a leg work out. And yes, I am still rocking the Christmas socks):

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I think it turned out pretty good!!  I love this shot below, because it shows The Boy hard at work in the background. He will be writing a post about that adventure soon.

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Thanks to The Boy for my ability to take much better photos!

Happy Holidays from POS!

Boy&GirlHydrant

I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday. We are on the road visiting family and having a fabulous time. The Boy and I are very lucky that we have almost all of our family within driving distance, and get to see everyone in the limited time we have off of work between Christmas and the new year. So far our DIY Christmas presents have been a big hit, but we have a few more to give out so we cannot share them quite yet. It is always scary when making gifts, because not everything turns out as expected, and not every idea is a winner.

Gifts are fun, but spending time with our families is what I really love about Christmas, since there are no greater gifts than that. The Boy wins Christmas most years, because despite our vows to not spend too much money, he goes nuts. This year he gave me a fancy camera, with a detachable lens and all that jazz. I tried to read the manual in the car but got lost somewhere between shutter speeds and aperture something. I don’t know, but I am excited to learn. And the pictures on POS have been … well, P’s of S, but that is about to change! Once I learn what all these buttons do.

Cover Your Winders

I made curtains! Sort of. We have a lot of naked windows in our house, and quite frankly, it is inappropriate.

So embarrassing.

So embarrassing.

It took a few months to get blinds up, but it has taken much longer to make respectable window treatments. Suffice it to say that working toilets were more of a priority. We have been stalled on the second bathroom renovation since we have gone as far as we feel comfortable without Miguel’s supervision, and he is obviously busy with the holidays (as are we). So at some point in January Miguel will come over for ribs and his favorite kettle-cooked chips, and will guide us through the process of disconnecting the power main, cutting the metal sheathing to shorten it about 6 inches, and moving the breaker box over so it sits in the new wall we are building. If none of this makes sense, don’t worry – we don’t understand either.

I found a curtain on clearance at Target, which I thought would be perfect for the kitchen.  The only problem was that it was one huge panel, and we have one small window.

Exhibit "A"

Exhibit “A”

I’ve read several tutorials on no-sew hem tape, and figured it was worth a shot. First I had to locate the iron and dust it off. Then I realized I had no ironing board, so I improvised by covering the dining room table with towels.

Curtains

When The Boy read this post, he said, “Sweetheart, you probably shouldn’t be using that table as an ironing board,” at which point I realized that I had done this while he was gone and did not plan on telling him. Oops!

Then I laid out my panel, and decided to first cut it to length.  That way, when I separated it into two panels, they would both be the same length. I measured the window, figured out where I wanted the curtain to fall, and made little marks on each side of the curtain.

Curtains

Then I cut it, and used the tape and iron to “hem” it. This worked surprisingly well!  The bond was very strong and I was pleasantly surprised.

Curtains

Next I cut the large but shortened panel in half lengthwise, to make it into two shortened panels. This was pretty easy, since I folded it in half and cut along the fold. By this time I was a professional hem tape user. One minor complication I did not consider in advance was the sealing of the entry point for the curtain rod.

Hmmm.

Hmmm.

A few snips of the offending material, and it was ready to go.

CurtainsCurtainsCurtains

I was also surprised when I held it up to the window and realized that I marked where I wanted the curtain to end, and did not account for the ½ inch or so of folded over hem.  Oops again. Luckily, I had devised a very lazy scheme of hanging the curtain, which involved a spare shower curtain tension rod placed between the two cabinets on either side of the sink. I moved the rod down ½ inch, and bam!

Curtains

Ignore all of the strange items in the sink. I have no idea what was going on.

Lazy + Ingenuity = Perfection. That is MY version of mathification. I am also happy to report that this will be the last crappy picture I will offend your eyes with. (More on that tomorrow!)

This entire project took about an hour, which is not bad for a beginner who does not excel at measuring, cutting in a straight line, or ironing. I think it is a huge improvement, and it might be the most decorating I’ve ever done. All in all – quite a success.