Today is also my birthday! I am FINALLY 26....I thought it would never get here! (kidding...who actually looks forward to a 26th birthday?)
Funny story, even though I'm 26, I am still getting turned away from night clubs at friend's bachelorette parties for looking 12. Apparently my ID also looks fake. But who's gonna be laughing in 26 years when I look 26? ME! That's who!
But that's neither here nor there.
Things at our house have been at a standstill as far as renovating/decorating/remodeling. For one, I am STILL trying to find a full-time job, over a year later. Not that I'm complaining, because I love staying home with the dogs.
Another reason for our standstill is that it's finally been warm enough to use our pool. Like every day. So when we decide to make time for lounging poolside, we are pushing aside progress on the house. Our pool has never looked better, though! Come over and swim with me sometime!
Slowly, but surely, we are making some progress on the office. But I have a feeling it would be going a lot faster if I could just get motivated. We'll see what this weekend holds.
So, while I do not have anything to share house-wise, I do have a fun little project that anyone can do (homeowners or not!) I guess I'm on a bit of a craft kick.
I'm not sure where I heard about this, but it had to be a combination of reading other blogs and googling. It's one of those "'twas blind but now I see" type of deals, where I didn't even know this craft existed!
Custom etched bar glasses
This is a little gift-set that I whipped up for a dear friend's "Stock the Bar" wedding shower. Great party, by the way! I had never heard of this type of shower, but it was so much fun, and the happy couple got lots of goodies for their home bar.
I asked Jennifer (the bride) to send me 4 inside jokes that she and her fiance have. Something that they would hear and only they would know what it meant. (I'm not sure why I felt the need to explain what an inside joke is, but let's just consider it part of the tutorial.)
Here's what you'll need for this project:
-4 glasses (or however many you want!)
-exacto/craft knife
-contact paper
-pen or marker
-glass etching cream (just so you're prepared, it's like $8 for a 1-2oz bottle, but a little goes a long way!)
Those are the basic things you will need. You may find a way to be more efficient using other tools, or you may want to customize this to your own needs (i.e. Margarita or Martini glasses, or a mirror!)
First, I drew the letters onto a square piece of contact paper. I didn't like the way it looked, so then I typed and printed the letters out and traced them onto the white contact paper by layering them and holding them up to a window. It was really quite complicated and difficult, so I suggest using clear contact paper. (White was what I had lying around, so that's what I used.)
(This was my first attempt when I hand-wrote it. I later took this off and started again.)
After I peeled the back off of the contact paper, I tried my best to center and level the sticker onto the glass, smoothing out all bubbles.
Then I took my exacto/craft knife and traced around the parts that I wanted gone (i.e. all the black marker.) You can see where I started to do that above. This is a very time-consuming, hand-cramping part, but take care to be exact so your edges aren't all jagged! Don't worry about scratching the glass because the exacto/craft knife isn't sharp enough to do that.
Once all the necessary pieces are cut out, apply the etching cream liberally and let it sit for a while. (I let mine sit for like 5 minutes, but I think it would have done better to sit for a lot longer...)
Once you're satisfied with how long it has sat there, eating away at the surface of the glass, rinse with water. I also wiped my clean with a damp paper towel to make sure I didn't leave behind anything that would etch where I didn't want it.
Dry with a dry paper towel, then peel off the contact paper.
Really? That's it???
It was so easy to do! The hardest and most time-consuming part is definitely cutting out the contact paper. However, if you decided to do something else, like a silhouette, it wouldn't take as much time.
I actually saw something really cute on Etsy where they made a dog treat jar with the silhouette of different dog breeds. It was A-freakin'-dorable, and if I didn't have a couple of mix-breeds, I would definitely be making it!
Maybe I'll get a glass jar and put a paw-print on it?
(Careful, Sara! Your house is on the verge of having too many dog-related decor items!)
I think the bride loved the glasses, and if not, well she didn't tell me! After writing this post, it makes me want to go etch the heck out of everything in the house!
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