How to do Glass Etching With the Help of Your Cricut
I have discovered yet another thing I can do with my Cricut Explore Air 2. Did you know that you can do glass etching with the help of your Cricut? I didn’t even know that was a thing! Using your Cricut, make a stencil, apply the stencil to some glass, put on some etching cream, wait and there you go – frosted glass!
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There was a bit of trial and error – I will admit that I have a couple of “seconds” – glasses that didn’t turn out well. I practiced on dollar store glasses, so the fact that they aren’t perfect is okay.
Supply List for Glass Etching with the help of your Cricut
- a graphic to do the etching
- some sort of glassware
- stencil film (I used Oramask Stencil Film 813 (blue) and 810 (grey), however, I have read and heard about others using removable vinyl like Oracle 631). Oramask 813 is meant for flat surfaces, while 810 is meant for curved surfaces – but I used both and both worked similarly. I did not really see any difference between the 813 and 810.
- weeding tool
- transfer film (I used the Cricut brand but there are lots out there)
- burnishing tool/scraper
- etching cream (I used Rustoleum Tub and Tile Etching Cream – available at Home Depot in the paint department). There are other brands as well.
- plastic spoon
- paper towels
- gloves (if you have sensitive skin and/or you don’t want to come in contact with the etching cream)
- rubbing alcohol & cotton balls (or something comparable to clean the surface of the glass)
- your Cricut machine (although you could do this with any cutting machine)
Amazon Links
Etching Cream
cricut maker
cricut tool set
oramask 813
cricut transfer tape
Step by Step Process for Glass Etching with the Help of your Cricut
- Use the Cricut to cut out a graphic on stencil film. Be sure to leave ample space around the graphic as it makes it easier to stencil (you don’t have to worry about being so close to the edge).
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- Weed the graphic – instead of the usual taking away everything but the graphic, you are going to do the opposite – take away what you want to be stencilled (I call this reverse weeding). Here you’ll see that I used both types of stencil vinyl.
- Be careful of the fine details on swirly fonts & the insides of letters like the “o”, “b”, “e”, etc. I found the Oramask to not be super sticky to its backing paper, so while weeding, pay careful attention to the insides of those letters – make sure they don’t stick to what you are discarding (I will admit that I had to cut a graphic twice because I lost the inside of a letter).
- Prepare the glass – I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. It removes fingerprints and any sticky residue from any label.
- In order to move the stencil to the glass, including the insides of the letters, I used transfer tape. There are many kinds – I happened to have the Cricut brand on hand. Some people find the Cricut brand too sticky, but in this case, that’s a good thing because you want to make sure you don’t miss the insides of your letters or the dots on top of letters, like the letter ‘i’. I put the transfer tape right on top of the stencil film. I lifted both layers up off of the backing paper and applied them to the glass. Once it was on the glass, I removed the transfer tape.
- Use the scraping tool to burnish well. You want to pay close attention to the area around the actual graphic – if there is a bubble, then some etching cream will ooze into it and then your graphic won’t be perfect. It doesn’t need to be perfect for the whole stencil – you only need to be particular around the cutouts so that there is no leakage. Bubbles around the outside (away from the graphic) are fine. Since the glass is curved, it will be hard (if not, impossible) to get it perfect – so just worry about around the actual stencil.
- Using a plastic spoon, apply a thin layer of etching cream on to the stencil. Make sure all the “holes” are covered. You don’t need a lot (on my first attempt I applied a lot!). A thin coating is fine – in fact, I could still see the stencil through it.
- I waited 20 minutes for the etching cream to work its magic. Simply set a timer and go do something else.
- You can re-use the etching cream! I think the tub I bought will literally last me a lifetime. Using the plastic spoon, I scraped up as much as I could and put it back in the tub. Then I wiped any excess off with a paper towel.
- Peel off the stencil. Unfortunately, with the Oramask, the stencil is not reusable – it will rip when you peel it off. You’ll have to scrape off the little bits from inside the letters (I just used my fingernails).
- Rinse with water. I also washed the glass at the same time. Make sure all the etching cream is gone. Let sit to dry. I turn them upside down on my stove.
That’s all there is to it! See how easy it is to do glass etching with the help of your Cricut? I just did word graphics, but you could pretty much do anything – think along the lines of cutting regular vinyl – it’ll work for etching too (just remember to reverse weed). The possibilities of this are endless. They would make great gifts for weddings or Christmas. I can’t wait to do more.
Want to try something similar? Be sure to check out my post on how to do glass etching on bakeware!
How to Do Glass Etching With the Help of Your Cricut
Here's a quick summary of how to do glass etching using your Cricut.
Materials
- Graphic to do the etching
- Some sort of glassware
- Stencil Film/Vinyl
- Transfer Film/Tape
- Etching Cream
- Paper towels
- Gloves - optional
- Rubbing Alcohol and Cotton Balls - or something comparable to clean the glass surface
Tools
- Cricut Machine
- Weeding Tool
- Burnishing Tool/Scraper
- Plastic spoon
Instructions
- Use the Cricut to cut out a graphic on stencil film/vinyl. Be sure to leave ample space around the graphic as it makes it easier to stencil (you don't have to worry about being so close to the edge).
- Weed the graphic - instead of the usual taking away everything but the graphic, you are going to do the opposite - take away what you want to be stencilled.
- Prepare the glass by cleaning with rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball.
- Apply the transfer tape to the stencil and apply it to your glass. Once in place, remove the transfer tape.
- Use the scraping tool to burnish well.
- Apply a layer of etching cream on to the stencil. Make sure it is completely covered.
- Wait 20 minutes for the etching cream to work its magic.
- Scrape up the etching cream and return it back to the tub so that you can reuse it. Wipe any excess off with a paper towel.
- Peel off the stencil. Be sure to get those little pieces from inside letters.
- Rinse with water. Make sure all the etching cream is gone. Let sit to dry.
Notes
Glass etching is dishwasher safe.
Other Glass Etching Projects
Be sure to check out these other great projects.
Thanks for the tutorial- that looks super easy and what a fun gift idea!
It’s a great gift idea! There are so many possibilities.
Your advice has been so helpful!
Thank you!
I am trying this over the weekend. Will these glasses be able to go in the dishwasher after they are etched? First timer here…. Thanks in advance!
Hi! The etching will not be affected. I personally tend not to put glasses in the dishwasher as over time they get that “cloudy” effect. The etching will be fine, however. Have fun!
I want to try this for a wedding gift. Say I use a casserole dish. Do I use a mirror image then and put it on the very bottom? Or do I put it inside the dish? Wasn’t sure if it was put inside the dish if it would ruin the food you cooked?
Oh this is on my list of things to do! Yes – I would put it underneath since etching “eats” away at the glass, it would compromise the integrity of the glass and probably not be food safe since it comes in contact with the food. I don’t think it would ruin the food, but I think you’d want it away from the food. So yes, mirror and do from the bottom – just turn the dish over and lay your stencil that way and etch.
Did you try it? I’m curious as to how it went.
Hello! Yes. These are my projects.
Was just looking at this and was wondering how do you remove the etching cream do you just wipe it off with a paper towel ?
Hi! I scrape off the excess with a plastic spoon & put it back in the tub (it’s reusable) and then use a paper towel to completely remove the rest.
Is there a better cream to use. I find that leVes a very pale etching.
There are various brands out there. I’ve only ever used this one. Perhaps try leaving it on longer?
Keep up the great work! Thank you so much for sharing a great posts.
You’re so welcome! You just made my day. Thank you!
Hi, I noticed on 2 of the pictures on this article have a bucket of Rustoleum Tub & Tile (picture is difficult to read what the next line is), is there a reason why you show this.
Hello. I show the bucket of Rustoleum Tub and Tile because that is what I used to etch the glass.
What size was your decal? Any tips on getting the letters to lay flat as they near the bottom rounding of the glass? I’m struggling with this part. I keep recutting a smaller stencil.
Hi. It can be quite challenging. Like you mentioned, try it smaller. See, also if you can move it a bit higher so that it is less curved. Also, depending on your design, maybe etch that line separately as it’ll be easier to manipulate the stencil. I did a follow up post on larger designs that suggests this: https://toomuchlove.ca/2020/04/how-to-glass-etch-a-large-design/
Hope it helps.
Hi! I was just wondering if the parts you etched were all even. I’ve tried this many times but it looks like there’s a residue imprint left and I’m not sure how to get of that.
Hello. I find that I really need to have a good, even coating. Sometimes you need to move it around to make sure that there are no air bubbles. Those are key. It also depends on the quality of your etching cream. The tub and tile stuff works great. I also like using Etchall. Hope this helps.
I had etched with a expensive product and the rust oleum is amazing and so much more cost savings, thank-you so much for the recommendation. And your right the container will last forever.
You’re welcome! Yes – it’s so cost-efficient.