DIY Etched Glass Casserole Dish Made With The Cricut

I still remember waiting for my very first Cricut Explore to arrive in the mail. As someone who loves Pinterest I had been seeing the awesome projects that people were creating with their Cricuts and I was positive it would quickly become a craft room staple for me. As I counted down the days, waiting for my Fed Ex lady to make the delivery, I took to YouTube, researching how to use the machine and techniques for making different kinds of projects. I wanted to make ALL THE THINGS but one of the ideas that stuck out the most to me was glass etching. I remember telling my mom “I can make etched glass projects once my Cricut arrives!” My Cricut arrived at the beginning of August 2014 (you can see my very first Cricut project for the site here) and while I’d guess that I use my Cricut pretty much on a weekly basis I never did get around to etching glass until now! I don’t know why I waited so long!!! It’s so much fun!

Today’s project was inspired by summer bbq’s and potlucks. Summer is the perfect time to get together for a bit of backyard fun with friends– Turn on the sprinkler for the kids, crank up some good tunes, and share some delicious nibblies and drinks!

Whenever I head to a potluck I think twice about the dishes and utensils that I’m bringing with me. I’ve lost several serving spoons and dishes after bringing them to group gatherings. I love a good Pyrex dish, but they all look the same! I wanted a way to make mine stand out and ensure that I could find it at the end of a good shindig!

Customized etched glass makes AMAZING gifts. Hello wedding and housewarming presents?!?!? But I warn you… once you learn this craft skill you’ll never want to stop!

I thought long and hard about what I wanted my dish to say, and finally decided on the simple saying “Eat, Drink, Be Merry”, because really isn’t that what summer celebrations are all about?

I have a ton of fun fonts on my computer from The Hungry Jpeg. You can use any font on your computer in Cricut Design Space (along with a ton of fonts that Cricut provides), but for fancier handlettering fonts I prefer to make my image outside of Cricut, save it as a jpg and import it into Cricut Design Space. Which brings me to this month’s Cricut Question Of The Month!

Question: Can I upload my own images with Cricut?

Answer: Absolutely! Here is the image that I created for my Pyrex baking dish! Read on and I’ll share with you how to upload your image directly into Cricut Design Space to use for all your projects! You can also add images from Cricut Access to your design file (that’s what I did with the spoon and the fork in my project) to create a completely custom look!

Want to use this image? Right click on the image below and choose save image to save it to your computer!

DIY Etched Glass Casserole Dish Made With The Cricut

Materials:

–Cricut Explore, Cricut Explore Air or Cricut Explore Air 2
–Cricut Cutting Mat
–Cricut Stencil Vinyl (you can use any kind of Cricut Vinyl, but I find the stencil vinyl to be perfect for this job. I love that it is see through and has lines right on the vinyl so that you can line it up straight)
–Transfer Tape
–Glass Baking Dish
–Glass Etching Cream (I used the Martha Stewart Glass Etching Cream, it came with a brush to apply it. If yours doesn’t you will need a brush to apply the cream)
–Cricut Weeding Tool and Scraper (I love my Cricut tools and use them all the time for all kinds of crafting projects. I found that I was misplacing them and recently started keeping them in one of these Cricut Accessory Pouches! I love that all my tools are in one place and it makes it so easy to take my tools with me when I’m crafting with friends.)
–Rubber gloves

Note: This tutorial is 17 steps long! I know… that’s a lot of steps. However I wanted to break this project down for you, step by step, with photos along the way so that it was easy for anyone to do, whether it’s the first time you used a Cricut or the millionth time. Please don’t let the steps intimidate you. This project is easy and fun! It takes approximately 30 minutes of active crafting time and 30 minutes of inactive time while the etching cream works it’s wonders! Have fun!

Instructions: 

Step 1: Open Cricut Design Space. Click the Upload button in the bottom left hand toolbar. Click Upload Image and then choose the image from your computer that you would like to upload.

Step 2: Select Simple. Click on the screen in all of the white spaces that need to be cut. When you click the area will fill with blue and white check boxes. One click will fill in the whole area outside of the letters, then you will need to go in and click inside all of the loops and hoops (inside the A, D, R, the loops in the B, E, etc.) You can see below that the outside has been clicked and the inside of the D but the other areas still need to be clicked.

Once you are done clicking on each area click continue.

Step 3: Select whether you would like the image file to be saved as a print and cut file (to use when you are printing something on your home printer and then having the Cricut cut around it) or as a cut file. In this case we want a cut file. Name the file and click Save.

Step 4: Select the image (or images) you would like to use that you have uploaded and click Insert Images.

Step 5: Click the Shapes button in the left hand toolbar. Select the square. Size the square to be slightly larger than your Eat Drink Be Merry. If you click on the square you can click the lock button so that you can change your square into a rectangle.

Step 6: Lay your quote on top of the square.

Step 7: Holding down your control button, click on your quote and then the square to select them both. Then click on the Slice button in the lower right hand toolbar.

Step 8: When you click on your file and drag it, you will be left with 3 cut files. You will want to keep the one that is in the center below, with the quote cut out of the square. You can click on the other 2 options and delete them.

Step 9: Measure your baking dish and size your quote stencil accordingly. You can click on the lock button to unlock the proportions and make the file longer and thinner if you need to.

Step 10: Once you have the correct sizing, click the Flip button in the top toolbar and select horizontal. You will be etching the bottom of the baking dish so you will want your stencil mirrored so it shows up the correct way when you are looking through the baking dish.

Step 11: If you would like to add elements from Cricut Access to your project you can do it now by clicking Images and searching for the images you are looking for. I decided to add a fork and a spoon to my dish. I used Fork #MEF963 and Spoon #MEF967.

Step 12: Click the Make It button in the upper right hand corner and turn the dial of your Cricut to Custom. Space your fork and spoon an inch apart from each other and your quote so that you have room to cut a rectangle around them to use as a stencil. Select Stencil Vinyl from the list of materials, load your cutting mat with the stencil vinyl, stencil side up and cut!

Step 13: Remove your stencil from the cutting mat, and using your weeding tool, weed away the letters, leaving behind the box with the letters cut out. I’m loving my new Cricut BrightPad for making weeding easier. It has 3 light settings which help to illuminate where your cuts are!

Step 14: Once you are done weeding, carefully lay a piece of transfer tape on top of your stencil. Use your scraper tool to make sure that the stencil is firmly adhered to the transfer tape. Pay special attention to the small pieces in the center of the letters. Using the transfer tape peel the stencil off of the stencil backing.

Step 15: Position the transfer tape on top of the bottom of your baking dish with the sticky side of the stencil facing down. I used a measuring tape and a dry erase marker to mark the center of the dish and the center of my design and then lined up the lines. Use your scraper tool again to press down all over the design to make sure it’s firmly adhered to the dish. Peel away the transfer tape leaving the stencil behind. Check all over your stencil to make sure that around all of the letters is firmly adhered to the dish, otherwise your etching cream will get under the stencil and you won’t get crisp lines (ask me how I know this… blah).

Step 16: Read the directions on your glass etching cream. Put on rubber gloves and then apply the glass etching cream to all of the holes in the stencil. Leave on for as long as your etching cream directs. Because of the placement of where I wanted my fork and spoon I decided to etch my quote first and then do the utensils after.

Step 17: Once you have left the glass etching cream on for the desired amount of time, put on rubber gloves again and rinse etching cream off of the baking dish. I did this in the kitchen sink and used a paper towel to help get all of the etching cream off. Remove the stencil and admire your handy work! Repeat with fork and spoon.

Viola! You have a gorgeous etched baking dish! Now that you have this crafting skill, the possibilities are endless of what you could make!

Pin me for later!

Like this post? Make sure to see all my Cricut projects here!

Check out some fun Cricut Projects from my friends!

PMQ for two // Lemon Thistle // BrooklynBerry Designs // Woman In Real Life // The Learner Observer // Love Create Celebrate

Dislosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.