These are some Christmas gifts I made last year. These gifts are great for neighbors and/or teachers.
I printed Jamie’s name on a piece of label paper in a mirror image. Carefully, I used an exacto knife to cut out the letters. I peeled off the backing and stuck the home made stencil onto a glass baking dish.
Using extreme caution I used etching cream on the stencil.
Etching cream on baking dish
Following the directions, I let it set, then rinsed it off. The result was Jamie’s name etched into the glass.
This is a great gift for friends and neighbors that do a lot of pot lucks and never seem to get their dishes returned.
NOTE: I rinsed this off in my kitchen sink (porcelain) and it did take some of the finish off. Heed this warning, be careful!
Now for those who do a lot of baking or cooking for friends, check out this great idea.
Make It Forward Hostess Gift
I made a stencil the same way as I made Jamie’s stencil above.
I used the Armour Etch to etch the glass. Make it Forward is a great way to present your hostess with some home baked goodies. She keeps the plate, and makes her own specialties and passes the plate on to someone else.
Porcelain Pin Hostess Gift
This is one I did on a plate from the $$$ Tree or Walmart.
This is another version of the Make it Forward plate with some home baked bread.
To make these plates you write on them with porcelain markers, then you bake the plate in the oven which “sets” the paint.
The markers come in colors also. You could have the kiddos decorate their own dinner plate, or a coffee cup for Grandma and Grandpa. The possibilities are endless!
You still have time to make some of these personalized gifts. I bought my Armour Etch and Porcelain Pens at Michaels, you can buy them on Amazon using the links I’ve included for your convenience.
Let me know if you’ve made something like this. Do you have your own version or idea similar?
gail
Yanet @ 3 Sun Kissed Boys says
December 20, 2010 at 10:21 pmI love the porcelain pen idea to personalize things. Very cool!
Baye says
December 17, 2010 at 1:05 amI just did my first etching when I made Harry Potter butterbeer mugs from. I also got a mark in my sink from it. Mine was on the metal drain. It’s not a big deal for me since the sink is old. In the future, I’ll be using the work sink in the basement, though.
Hillbilly Handiworks says
December 16, 2010 at 4:54 pmHello, Gail!
I haven’t chatted in a while but I read each and every post.
I LOVE these ideas. I think you need to write a book.
Now I am going to figure out something Bloggish do do with the Make it Forward theme for next year. I don’t know what, but I’ll figure out something!
Cheryl @ Vintage Serenity says
December 16, 2010 at 2:45 amLOVE your Blog and all your projects and photos! Just found you tonight and I am smitten:) Hubby and I own a JUNK shop and while I’m not the repurposing person I’d like to be…many of our customers are! I love blogs like yours that show the before and afters! THANKS so much for posting…can’t wait to see your next project!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
December 16, 2010 at 1:07 ami love the idea of make it forward, too! it’s great!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
December 16, 2010 at 1:07 ami love the idea of make it forward, too! it’s great!
Paige (Final Clothes-Out) says
December 15, 2010 at 6:53 pmI love the “make it forward” idea. My husband is TERRIBLE about getting dishes back to people, even his parents. I’m thinking he needs one of these…
Shannon says
December 15, 2010 at 6:07 pmI’ve never etched glass before, but I love how it looks!!
I’m working on an idea for some spice jars and need to look into glass etching!
Great ideas. I have seen the Make it Forward plates before. I have never heard of the porcelain paint pens though!
Cindy @ LeChaiseParfait says
December 15, 2010 at 1:30 pmReally cute idea Gail, I will have to remember this one. I pick up really pretty plates at yard sales to give cake and cookies on and people always try to give them back. My grandmother started that tradition for our birthdays. She would pick out pretty plates at yard sales and give us our birthday cakes on them, by the time we were 18 we had a really pretty set of floral plates.
Peggy says
December 15, 2010 at 12:30 pmDont you just love the porcelain paint pens? I’ve not used them recently but about 6 years ago I made personalized coffee mugs for all the teens in our youth group at the time. After making the mugs we filled them with homemade mocha/cocoa mix, homemade marshmallows, and chocolate mint stirring spoons. I am thinking of doing the same thing for our boys this year as stocking stuffers.
I love the idea of the “make it forward” dish and personalizing a glass casserole dish. Maybe I’ll have to dig mine out and have the boys do it. (The older two are teenagers so they could do this without supervision!)
Thanks for another great idea!
Eates-A-Lot says
December 15, 2010 at 11:49 amI love the idea of ‘Make it forward!’
I also etch glass. The one thing that I do is I make sure that I use tape to tape around the edges of the cutouts. It helps keep the letters crisp.
Great idea!
Eates-A-Lot says
December 15, 2010 at 11:48 amI love to etch glass! I actually started a new window last night!
I follow a similar process. However, I have noticed that it is very important to secure the edges around the letters that are cut out. It makes the letters a little more crisp. Just in my experience!
I love the ‘Make It Forward.’ I’m going to have to do that.
susies1955 says
December 15, 2010 at 11:29 amAwesome. I love seeing your projects. 🙂
Susie