Glass Etching- How to

I posted HERE an idea about glass etching a name in the bottom of a casserole dish for a Christmas gift.  I'm so excited that my High School Arts and Craft class is actually paying off! ☺

Here are my final projects:

And here is how I did it. :)

Supplies:

• Etching Cream and a brush. I used  Armour etching cream. I ordered it from Amzon.  HERE is a complete kit.  Michaels sells something similar. Apparently they do not sell this stuff in a lot of stores due to it's permanent effects and kids using it to vandalize property.

• Exact-o knife or similar. I used a Coluzzle swivel knife because I couldn't find my Exact-o knife.
• Contact paper. I found contact paper (the stuff you use to line drawers with) at my local store $6.99 for 25 feet.  I tried to be thrifty on this one and use painters tape, but it didn't work. *You need something that will protect the glass.  You can't use normal stencils, the cream will seep under the stencil and not give you clean lines. 
• A mirror image of the name you want etched. You could also freehand the name.  I printed mine from Word at 72 font size, then enlarged it 140% on my all in one copier. *You could use a Cricut to cut a vinyl stencil for you. It would be harder to peel off after, but should work the same as Contact paper.

Let's begin....

1. Prep your surface clean with window cleaner to remove any oil, dirt or fingerprints.  Let dry.
2. Trace your name on your contact paper. I used a "Light Tracer" box.  You could use carbon paper, or even tape your paper and contact paper to a window to trace.  (You could even write the name on the back side of the Contact paper, then re-trace it on the front side.)
   *Remember to trace the mirror image.  You want to see it correctly when you look through the pan. This may require you "flip" your printed image in order to trace it's mirror image.
   

     3.  Adhere your contact paper to the glass.    *Make sure there are no bubbles.  Etching cream will seep under bubbles and create unwanted etched areas.

     4.  Use your Exact-o knife   to carefully cut out the letters. *If you cut where you do not want it to be etched, some of the cream might seep through and give you unwanted marks.

   5. Following directions on your Etching Cream bottle, use a brush to apply the Etching Cream.  Allow to  dry.
    6.  After all layers are applied as per the directions on your bottle, rinse and remove your stencil.

That's it!  You are done!
Etched glass should not come in contact with food surfaces.  So make sure you are etching the OUTSIDE of the pan.

*I was really surprised at how painless this was.  I was prepared for a huge project.  It was really simple to do, and I think it turned out great!  You could add some designs, or use a fancier font....whatever you want.  I wanted to keep it simple for the demo.  These are also my current baking pans.  I have some brand new ones I might go totally crazy on!