diy Gift : Personalized Pyrex

So.... the time has come... my friends have started to get married!  Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I'm unable to spend as much money as I'd like to on wedding gifts.  I have found that if you put some time and work into a gift and make it personal, it tends to be much more appreciated anyways!

When I found a tutorial from Make It and Love It for Glass Etching, I had to give it a try for my lovely friend Sarah and her to-be husband Josh!  I decided to write out my own instructions, because I don't have a Cricut cutter like Make It and Love It used.

Here's what you'll need:

• Pyrex bakeware (I got a 2 piece set from Target)
• Clear contact paper
• Print out of the design you want to etch into the Pyrex (Make sure you print in mirror image, so the reverse of how you want the design to show up on the bakeware.  I had to reprint mine after this picture because I forgot)
• Exacto Knife
• Masking Tape
• Paint brush
• Armor Etch cream (A bit pricey from Michaels' but a little goes a long way!)

Print out your desired design.  It's best to choose a font that is fairly basic so it is easier to cut out with your Exacto knife.  I found a larger leaf pattern and used Photoshop to simplify it and make it easier to cut out, then arranged the text and graphic in Microsoft Word to print.

Make sure you print a mirrored image of your design.  If you're using a Mac, click Print, in the Copies&Pages dropdown, click Layout.

Check the "Flip Horizontally" image to print in reverse.

To make the "stencil," cut a piece of contact paper and affix it to the bottom of the Pyrex dish in the location you want to etch your design.  Make sure there are no bubbles.

Again, make sure you print out your design in reverse so that when you look at the dish from the top, the name reads correctly.  Tape the printed design over the contact paper.

Cut out each individual design/letter with the Exacto knife, being sure to cut through both the paper and the contact paper.  Go slowly and be very careful.  If you make a wrong cut, you'll have to apply a new piece of contact paper and start over on that letter.

After you have cut out the shape, use the Exacto knife to lift the edge of the shape up, and peel it off.  On letters with holes, like "D," be sure to leave the center of the letter in place.

Continue on until you have cut out the entire pattern.

Remove the masking tape and paper, leaving the contact paper "stencil" in place.  Flip the dish over to see what the pattern will look like right side up.  At this point, use your Exacto knife to smooth out any rough cuts.

Use a paint brush to liberally apply the Armor Etch cream to the stencil, being very careful to avoid contact with your skin!  This stuff can eat through glass -- let's not see what it does to skin.  Make sure you keep the cream inside the edges of the contact paper to avoid unwanted etching along the edges.

Apply the cream to the entire stencil and allow to sit for 15 minutes.  The Armor Etch bottle says to wait 5 minutes, but I felt that the longer time produced a better "etch."  As it sits, the cream will tend to goop up in certain places -- so you can move it around with your paint brush if you'd like.

After the 15 minutes is up, rinse off the cream with warm water and admire your new, personalized, Pyrex dish!  A lot of work goes into it, but if you take your time, the results will be fabulous :)

Enjoy, Sarah and Josh!  May you live happily ever after and never lose your Pyrex :)