Sharon It With You: Etching mirrors, another craft creation!!!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Etching mirrors, another craft creation!!!

Sometimes I miss being a teacher...I must admit I miss the kids sometimes. I guess that's why I'm always needing a "kid fix" every so often.
One of my favorite memories is creating a bulletin board every month depending on theme or subject matter we were discussing. Once, during December I created a board with a bunch of presents with the children's names on them. At circle time, I talked about presents and asked them if they remember the very first gift they received.
There were many answers, kind of like those AT&T commercials. I love when kids are honest like that!!!
Then, I would say, "Your name was the very FIRST present you received."
So, that inspired me to do another thing I loved doing, which was making gifts for the kids in my class. I enjoyed making them and especially enjoyed personalizing them specifically for them.
I had some mirrors saved up and was inspired to make some etched mirrors this year.
Here are the etched mirrors I made:

Then, I would use some of the twisted ribbon (I LOVE Twisted ribbon!!!) to wrap it. Here it is in gold.

Here it is in green.

Want to know how I made them?
It all starts with Glass Etching Cream by Armour Etch

I bought these mirrors from Michael's, they are perfect for this craft. Back in the day as a teacher, I bought 4 X 6 mirror tiles from Home Depot and bought frames and hot glued them in.

Remove the mirror from the frame, and make sure to clean the mirror well with glass cleaner to remove any dust or fingerprints first.

Now, you cut out a 6" X 9" piece of Contact Paper and write the name with a Sharpie to fit the mirror.

To add a little flair, I used a hand held punch to punch out the circles at the ends of the letters. Remember that look back in the day when Dot Lettering was popular?

A little tip, if you are having a hard time getting the Contact Paper off the backing, fold a little corner with a REALLY good crease, and Well-ah! You can separate it easier.

So, peel off the backing and place it on the mirror, making sure it is all flat and makes a great "seal" on the mirror.
Then, use an X-acto knife to cut along the letters, you can make any corrections you want at this point. See, how I didn't follow the Sharpie lines, exactly?

Then, use your X-acto knife to remove the letters.

Follow the directions on the Armour Etch jar. (CAUTION: It is corrosive, so use gloves and use in a well ventilated area)
Shake jar well, brush it onto the mirror, going both ways, vertically and horizontally, ensuring everything is covered.