Keeping It Sharp... Quick and Easy DIY Teacher Gift with Etchall®

Hello friends! I have great news!! I am officially part of the Etchall® Ambassador Design Team. I am excited to be a part of this team and to share my etching adventure with you today with my first project!

Etchall® tickles my GREENcrafting heart as it makes customizing everyday items quick, easy and fun -- and it's not just for glass... Etchall® etches on glass, mirror, ceramic, porcelain, marble and slate! Of course, I will be trying out all of these surfaces.

Today I'm sharing a quick and easy DIY Teacher gift using Etchall®... a custom etched vase filled with sharpened pencils and some extra rulers {for good measure - LOL}! 

You can use a vase or recycled jar around the house - for my project today I've picked up one for $1 at the Dollar Tree. Add Etchall® a surplus of pencils, a couple rulers and pink erasers and this I will have a fabulous teacher gift for the new school year ahead... all for under $10. 

Supplies needed:

• Etchall® Glass Etching BEE-Ginner Kit
• Alphabet stickers {from Dollar Tree}
• scissors
• recycled plastic fork
• Cyclindrical vase {from Dollar Tree}
• lots of pencils
• a few rulers and some pink erasers
• plastic palette knife

Etchall® is a REUSABLE, easy to use etching créme that creates permanent etched designs on large or small areas of glass, mirror, ceramic, porcelain, marble and slate. No curing, or drying required... it just takes 15 minutes! CLICK HERE to read more about this fantastic ACMI Certified product.

For my project today I have used items from the Etchall® Glass Etching BEE-Ginner Kit. It has everything you need to get started... and in just 15 minutes will have you hooked on etching everything under the sun! 

First I cut a real thin strip of the transfer paper to use as a straight guideline to place my sticker letters upon the vase. There is a nice grid pattern on the back that helps with measuring and cutting.

I've selected some chunky foil letter stickers that are in my stash that are from the Dollar Tree. Since these stickers are a metallic foil and not paper stickers, I'm confident that the Etchall® Etching Creme will not be able to penetrate and work as a perfect letter mask. I used the detail pick tool to pick up the letters from the sticker sheet and place them onto the glass. Using the tool helps with application and keeping your fingers from dulling all the stickiness.

I place the letters spelling out backwards "SHARP!", then remove the guideline and reapply just above to spell out the remaining words "KEEP IT".

 

I use the squeegee tool to burnish down the sticker letters real good to ensure the etching creme doesn't seep under the edges. 

After all the letters are placed and burnished down, I add a couple of vinyl stripes to mimmick the six sides of a pencil; alternating etched and unetched areas; and then I am ready to etch! 

Using a recycled plastic fork, I scoop out and apply the Etchall® Etching Créme to the vase like I'm icing a cake - making sure a nice even layer is applied, then repeat to each section of the vase. 

I set this aside for 15 minutes while I sharpen three boxes of pencils. Sharpening that many pencils by hand actually took longer than 15 minutes... no worries -  the Etchall® Etching Creme stops itself so if you run a little longer everything is A-OK.

After 15 minutes {or more like 30 minutes} I return to remove the Etchall®. Nothing goes to waste here... this is totally recyclable!!! Using the squeegee tool I scrape the I scrape away the Etchall® Etching Créme and what's leftover goes back in the bottle.

Gently scrape away and drop the Etchall® Etching Creme right back into the container! This little bottle of créme can be used over and over again.

Once all of the Etchall® Etching Creme is removed, wash the remaining residue completely from the glass with just plain water. Gently pat dry with a soft cloth. 

Now peel away the transfer sheet...

and use the detail pick tool to peel off the sticker letters {which worked perfect as a resist mask with the Etchall® Etching Creme}.

LOOK AT THIS ETCHING!!!

Now to embellish this stylish and beautiful etched design with some pencils, rulers and erasers. 

A perfect compliment for the teacher's desk
with an inspirational message!

The best part... I did it myself. While I waited 15 minutes for the Etchall to do it's magic - I sharpened all the pencils {by hand} which took longer than the whole etching process. I love how this turned out and I have to admit it looks pretty sharp, too!

What DIY gifts do you make for teachers?

You have the Etchall® Etching Creme, but you need some "odds n' ends" {lights, tools, etchmask, etc}... This month Etchall® has a special coupon to pick up your odds n' ends at Etchall® -- this includes the designer tipkit, resist gel, bottlelight, etchmask, tools, and accessories! Use coupon code ODDSNENDS for 20% off select items.

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Stay tuned for more ideas on transforming items with Etchall®! :) Sb

** This is a sponsored post. Etchall® has provided products for use in this project in exchange for my creative ideas, views and opinions. My ideas and opinions are my own.