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Mr. & Mrs. etched drinking glasses are a great decoration for any wedding! The method of glass etching in this tutorial can be applied to any kind of glass; make Mr. & Mrs. wine glasses, champagne glasses, or anything you want!

Before I begin, here's a brief overview of how the glass-etching works:

You create a stencil from adhesive-backed vinyl. This stencil will be a negative of the image to be etched. After you've completed the stencil, apply it to the glass. You CANNOT have bubbles around the edges of any letters or images. If you do, it could ruin the etching! After you apply the stencil, some etching cream is applied heavily on the vinyl stencil, without going over the edges of the vinyl. About thirty minutes later, the cream can be washed off, the vinyl can be removed, and you have etched glass!

If you didn't understand that, don't worry -- I'll explain a lot more in further steps!

Step 1: Ingredients

Here's what you'll need:

• Glasses (I'm using pint glasses)

• Vinyl Cutter (I'm using the Silhouette Portrait)

• Craft Vinyl

• Vinyl Transfer Tape

• Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream

• Foam Brushes (cheap from Walmart)

• Disposable Gloves (again, cheap from Walmart)

Step 2: Create the Stencil

To create the stencil, I'm using my Silhouette Portrait vinyl cutter and some cheap craft vinyl. First, I designed my stencil in the Silhouette Studio software. Then I cut & weeded (removed excess) the vinyl to create a negative of my image.

For anyone else using a Silhouette Portrait or Cameo, you can download the .studio file here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yav2oibuo5kol8p/mr%20and%20mrs%20glasses.studio

For anyone who doesn't have a vinyl cutter, you can buy a set of 2 stencils from my Etsy shop for $5 with free shipping. Let me know if you'd like me to set up a listing for you :)

Step 3: Apply the Stencil

This step can be tricky.

To apply the stencil, first stick a layer of transfer tape over it. Then, peel up the transfer tape, making sure everything sticks to it.

After you've got it on the transfer tape, carefully stick it to the glass. Make sure it's straight! Once you get it on there, rub it really good and then peel back the transfer tape, leaving the vinyl stencil on the glass. Oh, and make sure you don't get any bubbles! Some bubbles in blank areas are okay, but there cannot be any bubbles on/around letters or images. If there are bubbles there, the etching cream will leak beneath the stencil and etch places that don't need to be etched.

Step 4: Start Etching!

Before you being this step, put gloves on. And don't remove them until the very end!!

Get some spare cardboard or newspaper to cover your work area with. I'm using a scrap piece of choroplast (the stuff they use to make political road-side signs, etc.). This is very important so that you don't get the etching cream all over your table.

Now you can go ahead and open up your etching cream. You may want to have a fan running to blow away the smell/fumes from the chemicals, but it's not terribly important.

Get out a foam brush and start putting etching cream on the glass. Make sure you don't go over the edges of the vinyl stencil because everywhere the cream touches will get etched.

Try to get a thick, even coat. It doesn't have to be perfectly even, but make sure it's at least somewhat even. If it isn't, you'll get a splotchy appearance in the end.

Step 5: And Now, We Wait.

Now wait about 25-30 minutes for the cream to do it's job. You may want to monitor the glasses during this time period to make sure the cream doesn't drip onto places you don't want it dripping.

Step 6: Wash Off the Cream

Carefully carry your glasses to the sink. One at a time, rinse the cream off of the glasses. Since you still have the gloves on, use your fingers to rub the cream because it can be stubborn to come off sometimes.

Step 7: Remove the Stencil

The last step in etching is to peel off the stencil. The easiest way to do this is to stay at the sink and peel off the stencil under running water. It will come off much easier!