You know I love me some glass etching. It's so fun to have an image etched permanently onto such a slippery surface! When I got my kit, I knew exactly what I wanted. A "You are Special Today" plate for birthdays. Several months ago, Gabrielle had me letter a few versions of the phrase for a story about celebrating birthdays. I love how she approaches each holiday with such simple, yet impactful flair. You can download the plate artwork here (and use the tutorial for a drawn or etched plate!). From now on (I'm sure I'll forget, but I'm going to try) I am going to pull out this plate for the birthday girl or boy for each meal. The craft was incredibly easy since I didn't have to sketch or cut out the design. Since using my cutter, the project went from an idea to done in a matter of minutes. Since the etched plate would serve food (likely sticky breakfast foods), I opted to etch the underside of the plate. In reverse. Sometimes you won't need to reverse it. It just depends upon where you need to put it. You'll want to reverse the graphic if you're going to etch pans (because you want to etch the outside of the pan and see the design from the inside). No need to reverse it if you're putting the graphic on the outside of a jar and viewing the design from the outside of the jar. It's so hard to take crisp, high-contrast photos of etched glass. These lines are a lot more crisp than they photograph. The masking material's impressive adhesion got me really excited about doing some more intricate abstract patterns on plates. Ideas are coming in droves! The Silhouette promotion for this month includes a starter kit with all the materials needed for creating an etched craft. Use code MELISSA at checkout for the discount.

I am a Silhouette affiliate. I wouldn’t blog about their products unless I really loved them. And I do. I receive a portion of sales made with the promotional code MELISSA, so thank you for your support!!