Now that some of the grass and weeds have been cleared from the garden, I want to decorate a little. A year or so ago, I made a teacup votive for my garden and an etched glass angel. This year, I'm ready to add more etched garden art to my flower beds. I have a few ideas, but I thought I'd start with a birdbath.
I headed to my local thrift store and picked up some glass to upcycle. I have quite a stash but I needed a large plate or shallow bowl for the main part of the birdbath.
Here's what I found - a large divided plate.
I combined it with some pieces that I had from previous trips.
Here's one ready to etch with etchall® dip 'n etch.
As you can see, it is not quite covered in the dip 'n etch, so I solved this problem by rotating it while it etches. If you do this, wear gloves. The original dip 'n etch is a clear liquid, but as it is used, it turns dark. It is still effective and after I etched all my pieces, I poured the leftover liquid back in the container.
Here all the pieces after etching stacked into the birdbath. It's pretty like this, but I wanted a little color to bring out the patterns.
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| Etched Birdbath |
I wasn't quite satisfied with this arrangement of glass. For one thing, after I painted the large dish, the back was more interesting than the front. But, then I needed a larger bowl for the actual bath. So, I went shopping again!
Here's the beautiful pressed glass bowl I found.
Here's the beautiful pressed glass bowl I found.
The inside is smooth and the outside has a very intricate pattern.
I didn't have enough etchall® dip 'n etch to cover this bowl, so I coated it with a layer of etchall® etching crème. It would have been easier with the bowl's intricate surface to use the liquid, but the etchall® etching crème worked fine. I used a plastic knife to get into all the grooves on the glass.
After it was finished etching, I washed it off using an old toothbrush to get into the crevices. On a smooth surface, I would have scraped it off and put it back in the container (it's re-usable!). But, this surface was too intricate to make it worthwhile.
After drying, I painted it as I had the vase and plate with Americana® Décor Chalky Finish paint by DecoArt®. With the tooth on the glass created by etching, the chalk paint works very well, and I love the soft romantic colors. I left the inside unpainted.
To give the pieces a distressed look, I took off some of the paint with sandpaper.
Then, I glued the pieces together with an epoxy glue.
Here's the finished birdbath:
I can't wait to try more garden pieces! Ready to try etching? Head over to the etchall® site for all your supplies.
Looking for more garden "etch-spiration", you might like these etched garden crafts:
I didn't have enough etchall® dip 'n etch to cover this bowl, so I coated it with a layer of etchall® etching crème. It would have been easier with the bowl's intricate surface to use the liquid, but the etchall® etching crème worked fine. I used a plastic knife to get into all the grooves on the glass.
After it was finished etching, I washed it off using an old toothbrush to get into the crevices. On a smooth surface, I would have scraped it off and put it back in the container (it's re-usable!). But, this surface was too intricate to make it worthwhile.
After drying, I painted it as I had the vase and plate with Americana® Décor Chalky Finish paint by DecoArt®. With the tooth on the glass created by etching, the chalk paint works very well, and I love the soft romantic colors. I left the inside unpainted.
To give the pieces a distressed look, I took off some of the paint with sandpaper.
Then, I glued the pieces together with an epoxy glue.
Here's the finished birdbath:
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| Shabby Chic Birdbath |
Looking for more garden "etch-spiration", you might like these etched garden crafts:
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| Etched Angel |
