etchall® Day of the Dead Decorative Mirror

Day of the Dead crafts are growing in popularity - this mirror combines a variety of mixed media for a finished piece which will make a colorful accent to you home.

Materials:

9" Darice Mirror 

etchall® - Etching Cream, Squeegee 

              - etchnet® stencil - Sugar Skull 

Painters tape 

Makin’s Clay® - Red, Yellow, Green 

                        - Leaves Push mold 

Smoothfoam™ Disc 

DecoArt® Americana® Multi-Surface Satin™ - Deep Turqouise 

Beacon® Adhesives Tacky Glue 

Toner Plastics™/The Beadery® Skull Beads  Paintbrush 

Instructions:

This was my first time working with the new etchnet® stencils with etchall® cream - and I’m happy to say that the results were absolutely fantastic - one of the cleanest, crispest etches I’ve ever achieved!

Apply etchnet® sugar skull stencil to left side of mirror.  Use painters tape to securely tape in place, ensuring there are no ripples in the stencil. 

Pour etchall® cream on the side of the stencil - NOT ON THE OPEN AREA - Use squeeegee to pull etching cream over onto open areas of stencil, pressing slightly to ensure the cream is evenly applied though the net of the stencil.  Once you are sure you have a good even application over the open areas of the stencil, apply an additional coat of etchall® over the stencil.  Let set 15 minutes.  Return etching cream to bottle, rinse to remove remaining cream and remove stencil.  Clean any remaining cream from stencil and set aside for later use (etchnet® stencils are re-usable). 

Create multiple roses approximately 1” in size from red and yellow Makin’s Clay®.  There are multiple tutorials online for making roses with polymer clay and/or fondant - it really is quite simple!   

Use leaves push mold and green Makin’s Clay® to create multiple leaves for the roses. 

Use Beacon® Tacky Glue to mount roses and leaves as desired on left edge of mirror, extending above and below the etched skull.   Leaves and flowers can be mounted when the clay is still fresh, or after dry (normally the clay will be dry in 24 hours). 

Use Tacky Glue to mount blue skull beads randomly amongst the flowers.  Let dry.

Paint sides of Smoothfoam™ disc with Turquoise Multi-Surface Satin™ paint.  Let dry. 

Apply liberal amount of Tacky Glue to top of Smoothfoam™ disc and mount mirror.  The disc will give added depth when the mirror is mounted to a wall. 

"BEAUTY" Etched Mirror Dresser Tray featuring etchall® Products

"Beauty is how you feel inside and it reflects in your eyes.” - Sophia Loren  

A friend of ours recently gave me this mirrored dresser tray that belonged to his mother after she passed away.   It was pretty the way it was, but to me it called out for some etched enhancements!   This lovely quote from beauty icon Sophia Loren just seemed like the perfect choice.

I also have to tell you that this project was a test of my patience….  I had a bit of an “etchastrophy” and had to try to think of a creative solution - but sometimes mistakes lead the way to an even better finished project!

Want to try etchall® yourself?  Follow this link and enter the code CINDIBG at checkout to receive 10% off your order! 

Materials:

Mirrored dresser tray 

etchall® - Etching Cream 

              - Designer Tip Kit 

DecoArt® Frost Gloss Enamels - Green 

Plaid® - Martha Stewart Crafts® Adhesive Silkscreens - Bodoni Alphabet 

            - Martha Stewart Crafts® Fair Isle Dots Adhesive Stencils

Loew-Cornell® Simply Art™ Brushes 

Ruler 

Instructions: 

Use ruler to align Bodoni alphabet lettering to spell out BEAUTY on mirror.  

Use Designer Tip Kit to apply etchall® to the open spaces on the lettering silkscreens.  Let set 15 minutes.  Rinse clean, carefully removing silkscreens.  

This is where the “etchastrophy” came in - As you can see in the step-out pictures, I had used small alphabet stencils to spell out the remainder of the quote along the bottom edge of the mirror.  However, I didn’t have enough letters so I had left spaces for the missing letters.  Well, I goofed.  The spaces I left were no where near large enough for the lettering I had to add.  So….. on to plan B.    

Use 1/2” brush to apply etchall® around entire outer edge of mirror.  

Let set 15 minutes, carefully return cream from edge of tray to bottle.  Rinse mirror clean. 

Hand write the remainder of the verse  onto lined paper, cut out.  Use as a guide when using the Designer Tip Kit to write out the remainder of the quote beneath the word BEAUTY.  Let set 15 minutes and rinse clean. 

Working in small sections and allowing to dry between each application, using small leaves

stencil from Fair Isle Dots set, use small paintbrush to apply Green Frost Gloss Enamels around edge of tray at edge of etched area. 

Choose another small dotted image/line stencil from Fair Isle Dots set, use paintbrush to apply Green Frost Gloss Enamels beneath the word “BEAUTY”.  

Peace in the Evergreens Etched Glass Votive Holder

When you light a candle in this etched glass votive holder embellished with real evergreens you’ll bring a warm holiday glow to your mantle. I found the original idea of adding evergreens to a candle holder in a Facebook post and decided to give it a try. My version features an etched glass votive with PEACE stenciled in metallic paint to soften the glow of the candle. The original post was just photos – I’ve included stepped-out instructions and some tips on what worked, and what didn’t, to make the process a bit easier for you to recreate.  

 

Materials: 

• Glass votive holder 
• etchall® Etching Cream 
• DecoArt® Dazzling Metallics® paint – Shimmering Silver 
• DecoArt® Americana® Gloss Enamels® Reusable Stick-On Stencils™ – Inspiration 
• Design Master® Tack 2000 Spray Adhesive 
• Westcott® Titanium Bonded Scissors 
• Tea light candle, or battery operated tea light candle 
• Fresh evergreens
• Foam brush, fine paint brush
• Silver ribbon 

 

Instructions: 

1. Coat outside of votive holder with etchall® etching cream. Let set 15 minutes.  
2. Use brush to return most of etching cream to the bottle. Rinse to remove remaining cream. Dry votive holder. 
3. Use stencil to paint “PEACE” with silver paint onto etched votive. Let dry. 
4. Break evergreens into small pieces.  In a well ventilated area, spray with Tack 2000 spray.   
5. Place evergreens around votive surrounding PEACE.  TIP – To help evergreens stick to the votive, I found it helpful to place a piece of parchment paper or a transparency over the evergreens and press with my hand until they stuck. Another word of advice – I thought I’d try using quick grab tacky glue to mount the evergreens – this did not work – the spray adhesive made it much easier. 
6. Trim bottoms of evergreens at base of votive.  Insert candle and watch the peaceful glow among the evergreens. TIP – the fire danger is minimal since the evergreens are on the outside of the glass votive holder, however, if you want to be even safer, use a battery operated tea light candle instead of a real candle.  
7. BUT WAIT…. THERE’S MORE….. SO NOW FOR THE CRAFT FAIL PART…… I lit my candle
   
   and set this pretty votive holder on the mantle.    When I came back half an hour later, the heat from the candle had caused the evergreens to pull away from the glass. Drat!  On to plan B – a pretty piece of silver ribbon wrapped and tied around the evergreens to hold  them in place.  You still get the effect of the evergreens, but no worries about them falling off lol! The moral of the story….. the spray adhesive still makes it easier to hold the evergreens in place while you tie the ribbon – so step 4 is still worthwhile – just add some ribbon as a back-up.
   
   

Celebrate Every Day with Etched Glass Tumblers

Celebrate Every Day with Etched Glass Tumblers 

With etchall® etching cream and a DecoArt® stencil you can easily transform everyday drinking glasses into something special.   These would be a great housewarming gift or keep them to use yourself and remember to celebrate not just the holidays, but every day!

Materials:

etchall® etching cream (www.etchall.com)

DecoArt® Stencil Americana Glass 6"x 8" Inspiration

Glass tumblers 

Fine paintbrush

Instructions:

1. Apply stencil to tumbler.  
2. Use paintbrush to apply etchall® cream to each letter.  You can simply apply the cream to the entire stencil surface, but I prefer the control of using a paintbrush to ensure an even application over each letter, and there is less chance of the cream sliding off the edge of the stencil onto the glass. 
3. Let set 15 minutes.  Use paintbrush to remove cream and return to bottle.  
4. Rinse glass, remove stencil and continue washing to remove all remaining cream residue.

Glamour Girl Monogram Mirror - Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop

This Glamour Girl Monogram Mirror would make a great gift for any girl who wants to celebrate there inner princess!  Sparkling crystal accents, etched glass fleur-de-lys, a glittered monogram letter, and coordinating ribbons bring it all together.  Be sure to click the Designer Craft Connection Blog button to see what other creative hand-made gifts are being shared today as part of this month's blog hop!

Materials:

12" Round Darice Mirror
Connie Crystal white crystal sheets
DecoArt® Americana® Gloss Enamels® Stick-On Stencils™ - Fleur de lys
etchall® Etching Cream
Chipboard glittered monogram letter
Beacon Adhesives Quick Grip™ Adhesive
Coordinating ribbons, scissors, foam brush
Command™ mounting strip


Instructions:

Place fleur-de-lys stencil onto lower right area of mirror.  Apply etchall® cream and let set 15 minutes.

Remove and place etchall® cream back into bottle for re-use.
Clean and dry mirror.  Repeat with stencil above and to the right of first image, then repeat again to create 3 diagonal images.

Cut three strips of 3 crystals from Connie Crystal sheet.  Use Beacon Adhesives Quick Grip™ to mount to straight area in center of each fleur-de-lys.

Use Quick Grip™ to mount glittered monogram letter centered on fleur-de-lys.

Use Quick Grip™ to mount single strip of crystals around outer edge of mirror.

Cut multiple pieces of coordinating ribbon about 2" long.  Fold each piece in half to create slightly-off centered loops.  Use Quick Grip™  to back edge of mirror to create ruffle around mirror.


For easy mounting anywhere, use a removable mounting strip.