From Spicy Salsa to Jar of #Cre8time Eyes... DIY Halloween Decor with Etchall®

Hello friends!! Halloween is right around the corner and my Cre8time is in full SpOoKtacular gear. I have a brand new Halloween project to share today - one that I am so excited about!

On Tuesdays it's recycling day and I am always inspired as to what I may find in my recycling bin to make things out of. Today's I am sharing an amazing jar transformation using Etchall® Etching Creme and a few things from my crafty stash... a salsa jar transformed to a spooky jar containing "Eyes of Newt"!

I begin by soaking the label off of the bottle and using some rubbing alcohol to clear off any residual glue and stamped information on the glass. This was from some delicious spicy salsa.

For this project, everything I need to etch glass is from the Etchall® Glass Etching BEE-Ginner Kit. It has everything you need to get started... and in minutes you will be hooked on etching!

Supplies needed:

• Etchall® Glass Etching BEE-Ginner Kit
• Amazing Clear Cast Resin, Alumilite Green Dye and Alumilite Phosphorescent Powder 
• scissors 
• recycled plastic knife 
• Recycled Jar {mine was from Salsa} 
• wire wrapped beads and misc jewelry findings 
• silver wire 
• cast resin pieces, spooky tchotckies, found objects or misc. ephemera 
• Cricut Expression Air and Cricut Design Space 
• blue painter's tape 

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.

The actual etching cream is very quick and easy the most of the work I did was in preparing the resin pieces and decorating and embellishing the lid of the jar the etching was the fun part and the easiest part.

But before I prepare some artwork to cut vinyl with my Cricut Explore Air -- I mix up some Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast Resin with some Fluorescent Green Dye and Phosphorescent Powder, then pour a little in the bottom of the jar and set aside to let that cure. This needs to set overnight to cure.

I create the words on my computer in Adobe Illustrator, then I convert that to a format that can be imported into the Cricut Design Studio. I scale it to size and cut it on a piece of the vinyl provided in the Etchall® Glass Etching BEE-Ginner Kit.

 

With the vinyl cut out I remove the letters and separated them from the backing/border so that I can place it on the jar. I'm actually going to etch the letters so I actually need the what would normally be the waste section around the vinyl lettering. I pick up the section of vinyl with a piece of contact paper to transfer to jar.

Being fairly new to vinyl cutting I didn't know what I was thinking and I cut away all of the excess not realizing that I really needed it... so I used some blue painters tape to fill in around the vinyl and protect the glass. In hindsight, when I do this next time, I will make sure to cover even MORE area around the vinyl on the glass because I found that I was a bit sloppy in applying the Etchall® Etching Créme. I use the squeegee tool to burnish down everything real good to ensure the etching creme doesn't seep under the edges. 

Using a recycled plastic knife to reach down into the bottle, I scoop out and apply a nice slather of the Etchall® Etching Créme to the exposed area, then I let it sit for 15 minutes. 

While I wait for the Etchall® Etching Créme to do it's magic, I quickly add a patina finish to the jar lid and resin pieces with Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks {gold and pitch black}, then rubbing the high points with a gold paste wax.

After I'm done painting my embellishments, I return to remove the Etchall®. Using the squeegee tool, I Gently scrape away and drop the Etchall® Etching Creme right back into the container! I love that this product is recyclable!!! This one little bottle of créme can be used over and over again.

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

Using the detail pick tool, I gently peeled off the vinyl and the blue tape, then gave it another rinse and let dry. I removed any sticky residue from vinyl/tape with rubbing alcohol.

The ETCHING and the Green Glowing Resin look so creepy... but let's CREEP it up a BIT more!

**BEWARE** Now I'm going to let you in on a little tip on how I made the "eyes of newt". This is a food product BUT THE WAY I HAVE DONE THIS IS NOT TO EAT -- FOR DISPLAY ONLY. You are going to want to only prepare/use this when you're going to have this on display for a party. You don't want to leave this in there all the time because it will mold... it gets real gross, pretty fast! I soaked Chia seeds in water. When Chia seeds are soaked in liquid they swell up sort of like a tapioca, but not so large and they have little black thingy in the middle that looks like an eye. I have these to put in smoothies because they're supposed to be very high in omega-3 vitamins and I happen to have some on hand! PERFECT! I added a bit of my fluorescent Green Alumilite resin die and Alumilite Phosphorescent powder with some rubbing alcohol to this to add additional spooky glow. You could use green food coloring too.

Now for the top of the lid -- I have embellished with handmolded and cast resin pieces from some found objects: one being a broken faucet handle; a bleached piece of bone {cast 4 times}; and also a recycled mini perfume bottle {which also has a bit of glowing resin inside}. I used some wire to wrap the ends of each resin bone together with a wire wrapped bead between and twisted wire snugly to secure around edge of jar lid. The top of the jar is layered with the recycled perfume bottle atop of the resin cast faucet handle. 

 

The completed jar is just so SpOoKy cool!!

The best part... this whole project is created with stuff I have around the house {crafty stuff included}. This looks great by itself, but I have a few other oddities to pair up with this gruesome collection of eyes. In a day or so I will discard the "eyes" and rise out the jar... but the FOOD SAFE glowing green resin goodness in the bottom will remain.

How would you transform a jar with Etchall®?

Wishing you a Happy ETCH-O-WEEN!! Stay tuned for more ideas on transforming items with Etchall®! :) Sb

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** 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.