Homemade Gifts 2011: Etched Initial Jar

I decided to stick with the initial theme this year for my sister, and crafted another project - this cute initial jar!

I had seen the process for etching your own glass on Young House Love. They did this cute project last Thanksgiving, and I thought: Hey, I could do that!

I started by purchasing a lidded jar from Target for just $6. I thought it would be great for the kitchen, bathroom...really anywhere!

I then purchased a jar of Armor Etch from Michael's. It is not exactly cheap, but it will last forever.

I also bought some of the big sheets of duct tape (awesome invention!). I couldn't find contact paper or the specific stencils that are suggested by the brand, so this seemed like a good alternative to create my own stencil.

I then went on the computer and printed off a lowercase "r". I looked through a bunch of different fonts, but ultimately decided that the Times New Roman was the cutest, with the serif. I sized it up to just fit the jar, leaving enough of an edge.

Next I cut out the "r" and traced it onto the duct tape sheet using a Sharpie.

Then I carefully cut out the duct tape stencil with a craft knife. It wasn't perfect, but it would do.

Then I applied the duct tape to the jar, keeping it as straight as I could. I pressed it down as tightly as I could, so that the cream wouldn't ooze through.

I painted the cream on, being very careful not to get it on anything else. Newspaper underneath is a must!

The jar gives some time specifications for how long the cream should be on, but I wasn't really sure for the duct tape, so I sort of winged it, per John and Sherry's instructions. I initially washed it off, but decided it needed a little more time and did a second coat.

Unfortunately, a few of the edges didn't stay as strong as it hoped, and so it's definitely homemade looking, but that's okay!

After washing and drying, I just added a fun ribbon.

Cute, right?