DIY: Custom Etched Mirror
As discussed a few weeks ago with my etched glassware tutorial, I am currently borderline obsessed with etching things. It’s a bit of a ‘hide your kids, hide your glassware’ situation at my house these days. A new-to-me craft in combination with an excuse to use my new Cricut machine is essentially my superbowl. Truly nothing made of glass in my home is safe.
One item that I had yet to try my hand etching was a mirror. Armour Etch, the cream I use, says it works on mirrors, so this week I dreamed up a sweet little accent mirror just begging for a baby girl’s nursery to hang in.
But I don’t have one of those.
Nor do I intend to.
Luckily, all of my friends do! I put out an open call for a volunteer little girl’s name on Instagram and was met with an overwhelming level of interest. The first ‘dibser’ was my college friend Laura, who wanted it to say ‘R & R’ as those are the initials of her two totes adorbs little girls.
You’ll Need:
Small hanging mirror (mine was $3 at the Target dollar spot)
Bottle Armour Etch
This product is pricey, but it goes a long way- I’ve done 6 glasses, 2 mirrors, and a casserole dish and my $23 bottle isn’t even half way gone. Plus, you can use a 40% off coupon if you purchase it at Hobby Lobby.
Stencil or sticker outlining design/message of choice
I cut the letters ‘R & R’ out using my Cricut machine
Flowers
I can’t remember exactly what mine are, but they’re from Hobby Lobby (50% off, naturally) and look like peonies or ranunculus
Paint brush
Ribbon (if desired) to attach for hanging
How to Make Custom Etched Mirror:
Clean mirror with glass cleaner.
Make sticker to use as stencil using Cricut, or buy stencil.
If you make the stencil sticker, you need the ‘negative’ (the outline of the design rather than the actual design)
Apply sticker or stencil to mirror. If using a stencil, tape it on very securely. If it is loose, the agent will get underneath the stencil and result in blurry lines. I used extra vinyl scraps I had to cover more of the mirror around where I was etching just to give myself a wide berth.
Using paint brush, dab agent on glass generously. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
Be careful not to get agent anywhere but area you want etched
The instructions say you should leave the product on glass for 1 minute, but I’ve found that more time makes it less blotchy
Using wet paint brush, wipe product off of mirror
Careful not to wipe agent onto un-etched mirror
I use a dry paper towel to wipe agent off of brush
Once most of creme is removed, I used a wet paper towel to carefully wipe down the mirror and get all remaining creme/residue off.
Be very careful to keep from wiping agent onto un-etched mirror. This project took me two tries because I inadvertently wiped some creme onto the mirror and it left a slightly etched film and looked awful.
Remove sticker
Clean again with glass cleaner
Hot glue flowers onto mirror as desired
Attach ribbon of choice to mirror for hanging (I replaced Target’s plain white ribbon with a pretty blue velvet ribbon)
Try 1 (left) did not pan out very well. For try 2 (right) I used thicker font and was much more careful- I think it looks great!
Toodles, tlo
