Fairy Cut Fridays: Cutting Vinyl to Etch Glass

Greetings, Followers.

Those of you who have been a CardMonkey follower for a while know that on Fridays, I have been posting crafts I make using the terrific Fairy Cut software and my Cricut Expression. Please read below (in purple) to learn more about this software, and to be eligible to win BLOG CANDY for commenting on this post. 

For today's project, I combined what I learned about glass etching on this week's U-Stream video sponsored by Alex and Ruthie, with Fairy Cut, to make this pretty glass bowl for gift-giving.

To make this, I found an image of flowers (three daisies on a stem) on www.UniversalScrapbook.com. This site has many terrific images set for cutting, embossing, stenciling, etc. Check it out! Fairy Cut uses files in the .WPC format and they drop right onto your on-screen Cricut mat.

Just "group", "copy" and "paste" the single image 2 more times to make this longer string of daisies. The on-screen image looks like this when you're ready to cut:

Now, cut your vinyl. I used some scrap vinyl that I purchased from www.TradingPhrases.com. This company occasionally sells a "grab bag" of their vinyl pieces that have been used for their larger cuts and it is VERY reasonable, under $10 for a large assortment of vinyl. On the site, search "Cricut Vinyl" to see if there is any available for purchase when you visit.

When cutting your vinyl, you'll want to "kiss cut" it to leave the backing in place while cutting through the vinyl image. To do this, scroll back the pressure on your Cricut. I set mine at 2 "low" pressure. When you're done, you'll want to "weed" out the positive image from your vinyl. You can discard this, or use it. I actually used pieces of my image (the flowers and some leaves) on some wall art I made. Here is how that looks:

What you want to save is the "negative" image. Peel it back -- carefully, holding the backing paper almost horizontally. Once you have the image weeded and peeled out of the vinyl, cover it with transfer tape to hold all the little pieces in place. Next, affix the vinyl to the bowl, being careful to avoid air bubbles and ripples at the image edges. Here's how it looks when you're peeling:

I applied the black vinyl (any color will do!) to a Pyrex bowl that I bought at the grocery store. It has a lid and I'm using it to send my homemade candy to our last Blog Candy winner, Star! (Be on the lookout for it, Star!)



Using a sponge or regular paint brush, apply a thick coat of the glass etching cream to the exposed areas (non-vinyl) on your glass bowl. I used Armour Etch. Here's how the bowl and vinyl look after being gooped up:

The Armour Etch directions (and Alex and Ruthie) said to leave the etching cream on for about 5 minutes; I left it on longer only because I went out for a long walk with my daughter and grandbaby in this beautiful weather! No harm, no foul. Just rinsed it off when done, and thoroughly washed the bowl, my sink, the brush and my hands. All DONE!

Thank you to Alex (http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/) and Ruthie (http://www.septemberninth.blogspot.com/) for their informative video that led to this project inspiration.

Here is a quick video I found on YouTube that has the entire process shown in 1:26 minutes. Enjoy!!

 
About Fairy Cut Software and the chance to win it:

This software is similar to -- and I think, better than -- Make The Cut or Sure Cuts A Lot. If you're thinking that you may want to invest in a program to use your Cricut to cut without having to rely on the images on a Cricut cartridge, try out the FC, MTC and SCAL .. they all have trial programs.

 

Now, on Fridays, if you comment on my Fairy Cut post here, on my blog, you have one chance to win a Fairy Cut free software license, generously donated by FAIRY CUT each month to one of my followers. You may comment up to four times (for 4 Fridays) per month -- once each Friday. Duplicate entries will be removed. Winner will be chosen at random by the Fairy Cut manufacturer, and notified directly with his/her free software license and access code. Thank you to Fairy Cut for their generosity toward my blog followers!

 

DON'T FORGET to stop back tomorrow (Saturday 2/19) when I'll be participating in the Friendship Blog Hop, with a fun project and NEW BLOG CANDY you won't want to miss!!