Glass Etching with the Cricut & Vinyl

I found this project online. It caught my attention and I was really skeptical about how easy it would be.  I tried it once and it worked beautifully!  Here's how it works! :)

What you need:

1. Glass project piece (I used a small canning jar)

2. Glass Etching Cream

3. Vinyl (size depends on the project, usually sold as 12" x 24" pieces

4. Transfer Tape (size depends on project, also sold as 12"x 24" pieces

5. Cricut machine

6. Cricut Mat

7. Cricut Sweetheart cartridge (or whichever cartridge has the design you want)

8. Cricut tools (to get the small pieces out of detailed images

9. Paint brush

10. Water to rinse project off

First measure your project working space.  I chose a jar whose side width measured 2 1/2" by 3" tall. 

Adhere your vinyl onto your mat. I cut my vinyl with a 1/4" border.  We will not use the cut out for the project, but instead, we are using the background cut out. You will see what I mean as we continue. 

I cut my image at 2 1/2 inches tall. This image is from the Sweetheart Cricut cartridge. My cutting pressure was on low on my Cricut Expression machine, this way it doesn't cut all the way through and I can remove the vinyl and it will be ready to stick on my glass. If you cut all the way through, it's okay too.  You just have to remove the backing from the vinyl to adhere it to the glass project. 

Below you see my cut out.

Once you have cut your vinyl, remove the image leaving only the outline. It is blue where I have removed the vinyl. 

Cut your transfer tape the same size as your vinyl square or slightly larger. The transfer tape I used looks a lot like masking tape! It's very thin and sticky! The backing has grids on it for cutting guide lines. Once you have cut your transfer paper, remove the backing. The backing again has the grid lines on it.  Place the transfer tape on top of your image and smooth out with the stick they provide (if you didn't get a stick, just use your hands, press hard.)  Once you have applied your transfer tape, lift the transfer tape with the attached vinyl off the mat, leaving the blue backing on the mat (you will throw the blue backing away. Also, with colored vinyl the backing may be white).

Adhere the vinyl to the glass project.  Smooth out the transfer tape as well as you can. Anywhere the vinyl isn't attached, the etching cream will get to. It is permanent so make sure you are very careful!

Apply the glass etching cream.  The brand I bought is called "Armour Etch" and can be found at Michaels or Joanns. A small bottle (3 oz.) was about 12.99 but you can use your 40% off coupon!  :) 

Be very generous with the etching cream.  The better you cover your image, the better it comes out.  As you can see I painted it on very thick so that I would get the best results.  Be careful to only put the cream where you want the glass to be etched.

The packaging says to leave the etching cream on the project for 5 minutes.  I left it on a little longer just to make sure it worked right. 

Once 5 minutes is up, rinse off your project under running water. use the brush to get all of the etching cream off and out of the groves.  Dry with a towel.

Remove the vinyl from your project to see the final results!

I put a piece of black paper behind the image so you could see it better, horrible picture i know, but you get the idea! 

Thanks for joining me in this glass etching adventure!  Don't forget to Create like Crazy!!!

BOOOO!!!

BOOO!!! Not like Halloween boo, more like...BOOOOO!!! SCAL is not available for the Cricut any longer!!! Just when I was about to buy it! Oh well!  So much for that, I still love my Cricut. It does make me want to explore other machines that are compatible with the computer though!  Having two machines isn't to much is it? hehe

SVG files!

It's day 2 of the trial version of Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL).  I'm loving it! Today I downloaded a free zip file. It contained a few Japanese blossom images, branches, flowers, etc.  I downloaded the images to my SVG folder on my desktop and was off to create like crazy!  

Once the images are downloaded, I opened SCAL and clicked on the SVG button.  I routed my way to my folder and there they were!  I clicked on the image I wanted on my mat and opened it.  You can resize, flip, move, and layer the images on your mat. I was just doing basics so I placed a few images on my mat. I hooked up my Cricut and pushed the cut button. The images cut just like they showed on my computer!

I can't wait to buy the actual program so these lines aren't cutting through my flower!  hehe :) 

Sure Cuts A Lot

Today I downloaded the trial version of Sure Cuts A Lot Version 2 (SCAL V2).  I was excited to try it out with my Cricut Expression machine since the creators advertised that the software can use any font on your computer to cut!  No more font cartridges!

I downloaded the trial software from a website called mycuttingbuddy.com.  The process was easy, click on the version you need for your computer, PC or Mac, then add the free trial version to your cart. You will have to do the entire check out process even though you are paying nothing. No credit card is required. Then after you complete the process, you get to download the software. It installed pretty quickly on my mac.

Like any new program, it took a few minutes to figure out where everything is. It starts you off with the pointer so you can add objects, you have to click on the text button to add text. Then on the side (for my computer it was on the right side) there is a panel with all the fonts, sizes, and all the speciality buttons just like your Cricut or Gypsy! You can flip your words, black them out, move them closer together, just to name a few things. You can also change your mat size, zoom in and out, move around on the mat, etc!   I am a little sad that the cartidges don't work with the program but that was to be expected since it's not a ProvoCraft product.

I started simple so far, I have cut a "T" for my first name.  I chose my font, size, position on the mat, and it looked great. I was ready to cut.

Here are a few things I learned right away: 1. You have to have a cartridge in the Cricut, otherwise, it won't cut. The mat for the buttons is helpful too if you are like me and have been relying on the gypsy and forgotten where the load & unload buttons are!  2. You need the cable to connect to your computer (same cable as my printer used). 3. There will be one or more horizontal lines cut through your image since this is a trial version, I read that the full version will not do this (phew!)

I was quite happy with the design after it finished cutting. Everything cut all the way through, the size was what I had wanted, it cut exactly where it was laid out to cut and I think the image looked great.  I can't wait to try a few more things on it!

I was trying to make an image into an SVG file and it worked! It was really simple and fun! I can't wait to explore this option more! For now, I'm going to find more fonts that I love and maybe looking into downloading some free SVG files!  woohoo! I'm having so much fun Creating like Crazy!

wedding bucket

My hairdresser is engaged and going to be married in 2 weeks.  Last time I saw her she was talking up a storm about her wedding! It got me very excited for her! I decided that I wanted to make her something simple so this is what I came up with.

This is the paper that goes inside the clear bucket. The background is black, the shadow on the word is purple and the LOVE is in shiny white. The lettering was done on the Cricut using my Gypsy Font.

This is the top of the bucket.  I wanted a large flower for the top but couldn't find what I was imagining.  

Side shot, the hanging washer is used to open the can lid.

This is the candle i decorated inside the bucket. It is a small present but I wanted to give her something and with my limited budget with other weddings and such, I was happy with how it turned out.  The words were cut on the Cricut using the Sweetheart cartridge and the Gypsy.  This project took about 3 hours to complete but was well worth it. 

Don't forget, go out there and Create like Crazy! 

Bella's birthday!

   My friend at work had a baby about 1 year ago on Thursday. She is part of my work unit so I got to be involved in throwing the shower. Bella was turning 1 and we thought it would be fun to have a little birthday party for her at work since I will not be able to attend her birthday party outside of work.   I decided it was time to dust off the cupcake tower!  I bought it from Wilton and I love it!  it's compact when you break it down, you can theme it however you like and it holds 24 cupcakes with ease. You can use it for anything really, fruit, candy, etc but I love the look of cupcakes on this tower. 

  I had made a birthday sign for her Saturday party so with those colors in mind, her cupcake toppers were pink, green and had the number 1 on them. I covered the tower with patterned heart pink and red paper.  For the toppers, I used my SU! scallop punch to make the pink flower, my Cricut & Gypsy to make the #1 and a circle punch for the white background.  I taped them to a toothpick and in no time at all, they were done! 

  Birthday parties are a great inspriation so go out there and create like crazy!

chocolate covered day!

   This Valentine's day I decided that I would try winning my man the way the old saying said to "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."  My plan was to make a box of chocolate dipped strawberries and his favorite Apple Pie Caramel Apple. Because whenever I walk by the chocolate factory in the mall I always want an apple and they charge so much! I decided to try to make them for myself and also to try to make them by the slice so you get more caramel & chocolate per bite!

    I figured since I only had 2 hours, I should try the apples first. I chopped them, sprinkled lemon on them and then dipped them into chocolate that I melted on the stove.  Didn't work. I had laid out parchment paper and that was a mistake too.  Here's what I learned - use wax paper!  It doesn't stick!!! Also, don't make your caramel too hot, otherwise, it will slide right off!

  Next, I dipped the apples into white chocolate. This worked well except that it warmed up the caramel so it didn't look clean.  My tip, refrigerate before dipping into the chocolate! Lastly, I rolled the apple in the sugar and cinnamon mix. Now that worked out quite well! lol!  

  So, while my apples looked lumpy and nothing close to elegant (which is why there is no picture!), they did in-fact taste good! 

  Onto the strawberries. Now these actually worked out very nicely. I dipped them, decorated them and put them into small cupcake holders. My tip here, Don't put them into the cupcake holders directly. Place them on wax paper to dry in the refrigerator and then transfer them to the cupcake holders.  why? Because if you place them directly into the cupcake holders, the chocolate attaches to the holder instead of staying on the strawberry and it just doesn't look as nicely put together. 

  From my kitchen to yours, go and create like crazy!