12 Crafts of Christmas part 5 - Gift Idea - Snowflake Etched Glass Plate!

 This super festive etched glass plate is so cute you may have to make two. . . one to give away and one to keep!

This would make a cute plate to set out for Santa on Christmas eve, or just a great way to give treats to your friends and neighbors.  Once the treats are gone, they still have the pretty plate!  

Two gifts in one!

Really cute and really easy!!  You have to try it, It will be time well spent!

Start out with the dishes you are going to etch. . . other than plates you could use etch onto glasses or a casserole dish, or even a big glass bowl, pretty much anything.  

Next, decide what you want to etch into the plate.  I went with a simple snowflake, this way it can be used all winter, not only at Christmas.  You could etch a snowman, or candy canes, or even a Santa silhouette.

Next cut out your stencil.  I printed and cut out a snowflake then traced it onto contact paper.  

Now Cut it out of the contact paper and stick it to your plate.  

Be sure to make sure your plate is nice and clean.  

I etched my design onto the bottom of the plate so the top surface would remain nice and smooth.

 Now its time for the etching.  I used Armour Etch that I got from Michaels.

It costs right around ten bucks for a little bottle, so it is tempting to be a little stingy when putting it on your plate. . . not a good idea. 

My first try I painted on a thin layer of the cream.  When I wiped it off it was etched all weird and uneven.

So make sure you really glob it on and cover every little spot.

Let it sit there for as long as you like. . . one minute is not long enough, and I found that 5-10 minutes is about perfect.  

Now scrape it all off.  The great thing about this stuff is that you can reuse it!  You can use it then scrape it right back into the bottle!

A penny saved right?!

 Once your plate is all done you can display all your hard work!

 Maybe even with some yummies on top?  

So give it a try, and Happy Christmas Crafting!