First Time Glass Etching - ATLA
I felt it was finally time to get into glass etching. So I went to the dollar store and picked up 4 matching glass cups for $4 total.
Next I needed etching cream, I'm normally a "shop at Michael's" snob due to the rewards and coupons but regrettably I was closest to Fairlawn Hobby Lobby so I went there. No aisles are labeled? So naturally I took forever trying to find the glass etching cream which was in the soap aisle for some reason. $9 for glass etching cream jeSUS
For this project I needed:
Vinyl
Paint Brushes
Glass Cups
Cricut
Avatar: The Last Airbender Nation Symbol SVGs
Caffeine
Later we find out to do this right we needed transfer tape!
So we get home I get the svgs from the internet. I prepare the file in the cricut software and create "negatives" of the etch I want to make on the glass. This is where you have to think of the opposite of what you want so that it turns out correctly. It's brain hurty time.
I load up the vinyl.
Cut the files. Damn I cut them at 3x3" too big. Set these 3x3s aside for beer mugs in the future.
Cut again at 2x2" Perfect!
I place the air bender ones onto the glass manually and realize I'm in deep doodoo. I am not patient or neat in any way. Everything I do is sloppy, naturally (even if I try hard). So I know if I want it to look right I'm going to have to try really hard. The vinyl swirls tangle immediately.
Lots of profanity and stress.
I decide while weeding the vinyl I don't want, to use that scrap and make ATLA ornaments. The air nomad one turned out ok Its crooked but I can doctor up the rough edges at least. None of the others turned out ok. (and that's ok)
Eager to see if this $9 cream works I apply a thick layer to the area I want to etch on the airbender glass. I waited 3 minutes and then rinsed with the vinyl on as directed. It rinsed clear!
Oh no it didn't work! Nowhere in the directions does it say it rinses clear!
Dejected that I spent money on a cream that doesn't work. I was determined to do it again and leave it sit for 10 minutes this time, but I didn't try again just yet. I moved on to apply the earth bender vinyl and in that time the etched areas became etched as the glass was dried and exposed to air!
SO IT RINSES CLEAR AND YOU JUST NEED TO GIVE IT TIME TO TAKE EFFECT
During the application of the air bender vinyl, I thought, ok I think these airbender ones are the hardest everything else should be ok. No I was wrong.
I really struggled with the earth kingdom ones so I decided on the nintenhard level fire and water symbols that I should locate our transfer tape and seek Andrew's help.
I thought of Zuko saying "That's rough buddy"
During my lessons I thought of the wisdom of ATLA and how it introduces philosophy and world politics to kids. Anybody who watches the show and doesn't like Iroh has missed the lessons. Like when Iroh teaches Zuko that while we and other nations may be different we are one people. Aang learns the same lesson when he realizes that a stolen enemy baby is not evil it is a human being.
I can already hear the conservative disgust because these are more liberal teachings. All I can say is: knowledge is knowing that we are all human, but wisdom is understanding that borders exist because people suck on both sides of the border. Perhaps enlightenment is knowing that a Palestinian baby is just as valuable as an Israeli baby and hate is taught. Dehumanizing is dangerous. I wish for peace.
Well, we had about a 5x5" square of transfer tape left thankfully transfer tape is re-useable for about 4 transfers.
So you weed out the vinyl you don't want and at this point I gave up on the ornaments.
You apply the transfer tape and really put pressure on every area and rub with the scraper from the cricut.
Lift and apply the tape+vinyl to your project again pressing and rubbing the vinyl onto the project surface. Then you very slowly remove the transfer tape and struggle with the vinyl. You must keep the vinyl on the surface and not have it be lifted by the tape. It is a slow process. Andrew saved the day with doing all of that.
"I ain't no two trip bitch"
