Etching Gift Glasses with Cricut Expression

Here is a project you can do in 1 hour from start to finish. A pair of glasses as a gift for some house guests. With a sleep over planned for a birthday, I wanted to give an unique gift to mark the occasion. Since it is the hot part of the summer I decided that a pair of personalized beer glasses would be just the ticket.

I used the Cricut Expression machine and clear Contact paper for my resist. I used a 12″ by 12″ sheet of paper to have lots of room and cut out the name of the birthday guest on my Cricut, using a regular blade. I used a slow speed, for the cut and used a medium to heavy pressure. The depth setting I selected was 3, but you might try a setting of number 4 on the dial as it would work well also. The letters which I selected to cut are the 1/2″ size.

The two photos below show the glass with the resist applied before the etching, and the white creme in place during the etch itself.  Here is a helpful HINT: I used a small wooded stick (actually a coffee stirring stick) to apply the Armour Etch Creme. It works better than a small brush and since I throw it away, there is no brush to cleanup.

The total time I spent with the Cricut was 20 minutes. HINT: I used the repeat feature on the cut, as I wanted the same name on both of the glasses. I did two cuts but only had to input the name once. The etching itself only takes 6 minutes form the start to finish, it was the prep time on the glasses that took the longest. I spent about 25 minutes going over the self adhesive Contact paper to be sue it was pressed down on the glass well and that the name was in the center and straight with the rim itself. There are certain letters that require a bit more care. Mostly the letters that have an internal loop, like the letter O, or D, or P. You have to insert the center part of the loop and press down carefully to be sure it is stuck down firmly on the glass to be sure of clean, crisp edges on your final product.

The guests arrived on a hot Friday afternoon and they were served a cold beer in their own PERSONALIZED GIFT GLASS, which they were told to keep. The glasses were the hit of the week end and I never told them it took me less than an hour to make.

Glass with Resist, Ready to Etch

Glass being etched

Fred wrote a comment about wanting to see the finished product, and believe me he has a good point.  In fact, let me show you two more photos. They not only show a close up of the finished name etched on the rim of the glass, but a feeling of what it is to give/receive a handmade gift as well. This second shot shows the happy face of the receipient who not only received a cold drink on a hot day but a personalized gift to mark the occasion forever. I think I like the second photo best.

Close Up After Etching

Thanks for MY Glass