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DIY: Etched Glass Bricks

By Pamela
Every year I attempt to make some type of homemade gift.  This year is no exception.

I have seen these cute glass bricks at the hobby stores and I wanted to see what I could make with them. I have to say the end results are fabulous and it looks like I worked much harder than what I really did.

Besides buying glass bricks, predrilled at a craft store, I also bought a bottle of glass etching cream. {I did not shop around too much and bought the first bottle I saw. It has a famous name on it and it cost me $25.00 minus my 40% off coupon. I am sure I could have found the same product without the famous name for way less!}



I bought some vinyl and used my Cricut to cut out cute letters and borders. I used a new cartridge, Sophisticate. I absolutely love the cartridge! Once the vinyl was cut, I peeled the sticky off the back and placed it on the glass brick. 

The key here is to get the edged sealed. It does not have to be perfect at all. {Side note: many of the glass bricks I have seen have simply stopped here and they have a cute finished product.}


Next add the glass etching cream. Make sure you read the directions on the bottle carefully. I will say it says to use gloves and be super careful. I was careful. I did not use gloves. The bottle comes with a little paint brush and I just painted on the cream. I started off following the instructions, leaving it on 20 minutes and then washing it off. 

In the end, I let the cream stay on longer, more like 40 minutes {I am not sure if it was needed or not but I enjoyed the TV time!}. I also stopped washing it off and started scrapping it off and putting the extra back into the bottle.  Gotta get the most out of my $25.00!


At the end of the 40 minutes, I scrapped off the excess, put it back in the bottle, then washed the glass brick with hot soapy water.  If the vinyl did not come off while washing, I then peeled it off and discarded it.


This is what the glass looks like after it has been etched, cleaned, and dried.


I added a light, or a strand of white Christmas lights and a ribbon to hide the glass plug. The end result is a totally personalized illuminated glass brick.

Oh yeah, and that $25.00 bottle of cream. I still have it. Over half full and I have now made 7 glass bricks this Christmas.

Cost Breakdown:
Glass Brick                    10.00  (per brick. Watch the sale ad's. Hobby Lobby had them 50% off)
Light                               3.50    (per brick)
Glass Etching Cream      25.00   (again, one bottle was more than enough for all my bricks)
Vinyl                              10.00   (Oh, And I have lots left over!)
Cricut Cartridge              40.00   (not necessarily to buy one if you already have one you love)
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