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Recently Megan featured a roundup of awesome toasting flutes. Here's a DIY option to make your own personalized awesome toasting flutes with glass etching.
For my example, I'm using the images of a piece of bread and a toaster because together they make toast… and you'll use the glasses for your toasts… GET IT!? Toasts!?
Seriously, glass etching is a super simple craft — you'll love it!
What you need:
- Plain champagne glasses
- A design (download my “literal toast” design here)
- Con-Tact brand contact paper
- Printer/paper
- Glass etching cream
- X-acto knife and cutting mat
- Scotch tape
- Glass cleaner (optional but recommended)
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The first step is boring but necessary: clean your champagne glasses so they're all ready to go!
Next print your design. Take the time to cut it out and even tape it to the glasses so you can get a feel for the size. If necessary, adjust the size of your design and reprint it.
Now tape your design to your Con-Tact brand contact paper (mine has a woodgrain pattern!) and use your X-Acto knife to cut your design all the way through the printer paper AND the contact paper.
Next peel the backing off of the contact paper and adhere it to the glass. The cutting and sticking is all a bit trickier than it seems because it is the HOLE that gets etched — just take your time and think it through. For the bread design I first put on the piece of contact paper that had two bread-shaped holes, then put smaller bread-shaped stickers inside that, leaving just the thin crust-like outline exposed.
Use additional contact paper to cover the other exposed parts of the glass. I even put some on the base so that if the etching cream drips my glasses will be protected.
Now it is time to apply the glass etching cream. Following the directions on the bottle, cover your exposed glass with the cream. It is better to dab the cream on rather than brush it so that the cream doesn't get up under the edges of your design.
Leave the cream on for as long as the bottle tells you to — I personally had to wait only five minutes!
Rinse the cream off and remove the contact paper.
Yeah! The finished glasses look amazing!
Big thanks to my good friend Joy for her help with this post! <3
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This looks surprisingly fun and easy! (I definitely get the hives when faced with most DIY projects.) I want to make all sorts of fun etches now…
I have a Cricut and, while I haven’t tried it yet, you can print out designs using it onto vinyl and then follow the same steps.
i am in love with the literal toast pattern!
ME toooooo! How do I mass produce these suckers? 😛
This is awesome! And I already have Armour Etch in the house from etching my lampworked beads. It’ll be super easy to make some glasses for our wedding.
I really like this idea! I really want to get some DIY projects going for my wedding. I do wonder, do you know if this is a cost-effective alternative to buying/ordering etched champagne glasses? I would have to buy almost all of the supplies.
There are things that would be cost effective to buy if you are planning on doing wedding crafts. The cutting mat and knife are useful for many crafts and household projects (cutting boxes for recycling, etcetera). The contact paper and armor etch might not be. If you get creative, you might find another use for those things!
I’ve made a lot of things for my wedding and the items I’ve been using and re-using are a cutting mat and various knives and glue.
Depends on, as Allie said, how much else you’re planning on doing, but also on where you’re making your comparisons. I found only one vendor that did personalized etched glasses for under US$10 per glass, but could find absolutely no sign of reviews from customers, and their customer support was less than reassuring. I inquired about some variety of a portfolio or something, and got back a response to a completely different question.
Things Remembered, of course, charges damn near your first born unless you opt for the very simplest of everything, and even then, you’re still looking at something like US$12 or US$15 per glass before shipping.
I found http://www.dollartree.com/Famous-Maker-Cobalt-Blue-Glass-Champagne-Flutes/p307413/index.pro after reading this article, which are very well reviewed, and I’m very strongly considering buying them, since 12 glasses will cover all of our honour attendants, Future Husband, and me, with a few left over (thus allowing me to etch one for each of the friends that might be standing for FH, since one of his first choices is currently unsure, in light of his own wedding and school, whether or not he can afford to travel for ours).
@Whitney Lee, you are wonderful and thank you so much for sharing this! I’ve been wishing there was a way I could do this myself; it never even occurred to me that glass etching cream would be a thing that exists!
I am so totally doing this
Ha! We totally etched pint glasses with our logo for favors, and this is exactly how we did it. They look awesome and I can’t wait to give them away.
Given how much Boyfriend loves both toast and puns, I can’t imagine a way that we won’t be making these for our wedding.
This is awesome! I bought etching supplies to make the groomsmen’s giant beer mugs, but the stencil material they suggest is super thick, and it’s not self-adhesive. Contact paper is a great idea! I think this will improve my success factor 10 fold! Thanks for posting!!
the toast made me giggle-snort for a good 5 minutes. My FH laughed at me.
That being said, this is the PERFECT thing for me right now. We were planning on etching several things for our wedding but had no idea how. Thanks!
I think im going to try this with ours..
Hopefully i will be able to put our wedding date on it…
Awesome idea! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the literal toast design!
Saw Martha Stewart doing this on one of her shows. Amazing!!
My fiance actually mentioned doing this to all of our wine glasses for the reception.. Question: do you think it would be hard to reuse the self-adhesive vinyl on more than one glass?? or would it be better to cut out a new piece for each glass?? The thought of cutting 60 is a little overwhelming – but possible!
Thanks!! 😀
Um….this is awesome! I had this idea for Christmas Gifts and I’m so glad it came up in the feature post sections. I got all the tools now I just need to think of what to etch. YAY!!!!!
dammit! cool as hades, but since we’re doing a guerrilla wedding, i think the garter flask is still our best bet. love this, tho!
I just made a bunch of Christmas presents by etching glasses. Our toasting flutes will be a breeze! If you need cheap glassware, I recommend Ikea. That’s where we got our wine glasses and beer mugs for a dollar apeice.
I’ve done it! This project worked so well and now we have customized glassware for my entire wedding party and the fiance and I. Love it.
Seriously great idea! Think we will use this one for sure!
Ahh my partner paints and sells wine glasses, not tried etching as we thought it looked difficult will definitely give it a go to add to our store! All in the name of the wedding fund 🙂
is it hard to get the contact paper off afterwards
This is an older article but I feel the need to say this – please use nitrile gloves (not latex or BARE HANDS) when doing this! Glass etching cream / acid is incredibly caustic to skin & flesh. Better safe than sorry!