How to Etch Glass with your Cricut

Etching glass with a Cricut cutting machine is an easy and fun way to add a personal touch to glassware and other items. Upcycle glass items with a new style or etch your own glass products for sale in a very short time. With our easy-to-follow guide, you can learn how to etch glass with your Cricut.

Materials Needed for this Tutorial

Design - A-Z Monogram Letters, just perfect for wedding craft ideas

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Cricut cutting machine - Cricut Maker or Explore series, or a Cricut Joy depending on the size of the application

Cricut Fine Point Blade

Cricut Stencil Film - Flexible Stencil Film, which is great for easy application

The stencil vinyl is part of the Smart Vinyl range, but can be used with your Cricut Maker, Explore and Joy cutting machines along with their cutting mats.

Cricut Transfer Tape

Glass bottle - this can be any glass bottle that hasn’t been heat treated (tempered glass), we will be upcycling and etching a wine bottle

Medium to hard bristle paint brush

Etching cream - for this project we are using Armour Etch

Cricut weeding tools and scraper - or any weeding tools you have available

Extra Scraper with ridges (to keep the bottle stable) and Painters Tape

A bucket with soapy water and a cloth

Protective eye gear, gloves, alcohol or baby wipes and a timer

Step 1 - Prepare the Design for Glass Etching

There are a few ways that you can prepare the design for glass etching. We want to create a single design as quickly as possibly, so we will be using the Slice Tool in Cricut.

The Slice Tool will only work with two design elements at a time. That is why we have chosen to upload the PNG file to Cricut Design Space instead of the SVG.

Upload the Design

Start a new project by clicking on the button for New Project top-right corner. Then, click on the upload button on the left-side toolbar. We selected Complex for the image type, and then clicked on Continue.

We didn’t need to make any changes during the upload process, so we selected Apply and Continue in the bottom right corner. For the upload type we selected Cut. Next, we clicked on Upload.

In the uploads section, select the design, and then click on Add to Canvas on the bottom right corner.

Adjust the Design Size

The image may load bigger than you expect, but you can decrease the size. Measure the size of the area on your bottle that you want to etch.

At the top toolbar, under Size, make sure the Lock icon shows as locked to keep the ratio. We edited the longest side of the design by adjusting the Width. The Height was then automatically adjusted.

Use the Shapes and Slice Tools

Next, we are going to use the Slice Tool to create a vinyl stencil. Use the Shapes tool to create a square shape and resize it so that it’s larger than the design. Place this behind the PNG and center the two horizontally and vertically.

In the image below, we unlocked the Lock icon to size the Width and Height individually. You don’t want to create a border that is too big as this will make it difficult to apply to a curved surface. Once applied, we will tape off the surrounding areas to protect the rest of the bottle.

As shown in the image below, after applying the Slice Tool, we deleted the excess sections until only the cutout remained.

Add Personalized Text to the Design

Before you send the design to be cut, add the surname of the happily married couple. Create your text and place this in the monogram split area. If you’re looking for inspiration, you can’t go wrong with this stunning collection of Cricut Wedding Fonts.

After adding your text, select all the items and use the Slice tool. Remove the excess sections to reveal the name cutout in the stencil. You now have one solid design that is ready to cut!

Step 2 - Cut out the Stencil Vinyl for Glass Etching

With the stencil ready to cut, click on the green Make It button on the top right-hand corner of the screen. You don’t need to mirror the design as the stencil will be applied in the same way as permanent vinyl.

On the mat page, click on Continue bottom right corner to be directed to the Material selection page. Click on the option, Browse All Materials, and then type “stencil” in the search bar. As we are using the Flexible Stencil Film, this is what we selected.

Follow the on-screen instructions and load your mat with the stencil film into your Cricut cutting machine. You can use the Fine Point Blade for this project. When prompted, press the “C” on your machine to begin cutting.

Weeding a stencil is the opposite of what you would normally do. Instead of removing the outer area, this time you need to remove the inner sections. See our image below to get a better idea. Be sure to weed out all of the little bits and pieces that are not needed.

Step 3 - Etch the Glass Bottle with the Cricut Stencil Vinyl

Place the transfer tape over the stencil vinyl and burnish in all directions. Flip over the stencil so the carrier sheet is facing you, and slowly peel it back. If you are struggling to get the stencil film to adhere to the transfer tape, burnish again with more force.

Clean the surface of the bottle with alcohol wipes to remove any residue and avoid touching that area when applying the stencil. Put on your protective gear to protect your eyes and hands.

Next, place the bottle on the extra scraper so that the bumps hold the bottle in place.

Begin applying the stencil film starting from the middle, and then smooth out the one side before repeating on the other side.

Make sure to smooth out as many bubbles as possible, particularly around the cut out areas. Then, carefully peel back the transfer tape. Place strips of painter’s tape around the edges of the stencil to cover any exposed areas that may be etched by accident.

Only a small amount of etching cream is needed. For this project size, we used about a teaspoon or less of etching cream and painted over the stencil.

Now, the key to getting a good etch is movement. The cream needs to be moved around the design for at least 5 minutes. Using the paint brush, dab and brush the cream back and forth over the design for a full 5 minutes.

When the 5 minutes are up, move the bottle over to the bucket of soapy water. Keep the bottle upright and wash off the etching cream, being careful not to get any of it on the rest of the bottle. Next, remove the painters tape and the vinyl.

Look at how well our upcycled glass bottle turned out! It’s a great way to save on expenses for your wedding as well as add a personal touch. Create something fun with drinking glasses for parties or upcycle crafts for a new look.

It’s amazing what you can do with glass etching cream, a glass bottle and a lovely design. You can create personalized gifts or add a unique style to your glass products. Design Bundles has tons of unbelievable designs including an awesome Plus Membership with exclusive benefits!