Friday, February 18, 2011

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!!

17 comments:

Lizzie Laine said...

WOW Ellen this is great!!
I never would have thought to use a pyrex dish, I have one that my hubby melted the lid on and didn't want to throw it away. Now I can turn it into a candy dish, this is awesome:)
Thanks for sharing this:)

ExpressionsByElaine.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Great Idea!! That is going to be on my list for future wedding gifts. Just love my cricut for everything. Will have to check out the computer program.

Blessings,
Carol

Aimee said...

I keep forgetting about etched glass using the cricut. Thanks for the reminder!

Anonymous said...

Pretty cool idea! Thanks I'll have to check into this.

Debi
cards_by_montana_reflections@bresnan.net

Star said...

I can't wait to get my candy in the beautiful bowl. Ellen--you are so creative and clever.

Ruthie @ SeptemberNinth said...

Super cute Ellen!

Ruthie :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful. I love the etching. I did my daughter's wedding glasses. Check it out here if you want http://createbyburffrau.blogspot.com/2011/02/50-states-blog-hop.html

Thanks for a chance to win

Burffrau @ aol dot com

jengd said...

Beautiful! I've been wanting to use my Cricut to do some glass etching but just haven't gotten there. I really need to do that.

Anna said...

Wonderful project. This is something I really want to try.
I'm a follower.
Thanks for the chance to win.
http: // mamawann. blogspot. com/
annadowdy at gmail dot com

Bunnyfreak said...

Thanks for the vinyl grab bag tip.
username at yahoo dot com

Brenna said...

that is a beautiful bowl! and seems like an simple technique! tfs
brenna
rbanderson at live dot ca

Unknown said...

Love your wall art and bowl!! I always enjoy your craftiness!! Thanks
Cindy

Unknown said...

Wow! I've never done glass etching but that's super cool!
www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
craftycardgallery at gmail dot com

Kristin said...

Great project! I etched my name into all of my pyrex so when I bring it to parties I always get them back!

Kristin
ksully4597 at gmail dot com

Claudia said...

I haven't heard of this software, but would love to try it.
claudia matzke at hotmail dot com

Debbi said...

What a gorgeous bowl! Thank you for showing the step-by-step. I am just learning how to glass etch, so this post is a great help to me. TFS!
*smiles*
debbi

hockman1 at sbcglobal dot net

scrapberrydesigns@gmail.com said...

That is so neat! I had no idea you could etch glass with a cricut. That software is very neat too. I'd love to have a copy of it. Going to check out there website. tabitha@scrapberrydesigns.com