DIY 2-of-26: Decorative Sand Display

Devin and I have always shared the love of travel and although with medical school traveling has become more of a future passion then a current one, we were still able to steal away for a few adventures in the past few years. We wanted a unique and decorative way to display the sand we had collected on our gallivanting and this is what we came up with...

Maybe you have dirt or sand from past trips collecting dust in zip-lock baggies or containers? Well here is how we turned ours into a banister feature! Here is what to do...

Supplies:

• Decorative glass bottles (I found mine at West Elm!)
• Sand/Dirt
• Plastic grocery bag
• Tape
• Scissors
• Frosted glass spray paint
• Vinyl stencil (You can find it at any craft store in the glass etching section, I used Over'n'Over reusable stencils)

Disclaimer: This I was delighted to find the mini Spanish glass bottles that stacked! My initial plan was to Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream (available at any craft store) to etch the names onto the bottles. I practiced on a wine bottle and salsa jar and it turned out beautiful!!! When I went to try it on the Spanish glass it did absolutely nothing! I even left it on for over an hour just to see what would happen and not even a dull spot was noted. Sigh...so I ended up going with Krylon Frosted Glass (also available at any craft store, use a coupon and it is not too spendy) spray paint. I would highly recomend using Armour Etch if you are not working with Spanish glass. Just follow the directions on the bottle and it will turn out gorgeous for my purposes I was happy with the paint.

#1: I wanted a custom font so I bought a blank piece of vinyl and used my craft cutter to cut out a stencil, but can buy the stencils already cut out and they have lots of different fonts to choose from at the craft store. If you you make your own cut out around each name with at least a half inch boarder around the edge. If you are using a pre-cut stencil cut the letter you need apart.

#2: Place the stencil or stencil pieces onto the glass how you like. Putting them at random angles will look more artistic and save you from trying to align them perfectly! If you are using the Armour Etch cream at this point just follow the directions on the bottle. If you are using the spray paint, then keep reading!

#3: Cut a piece of the plastic bag and tape the edges with tape to the stencil, being sure not to cover any of the openings. Spray the paint evenly with sweeping motions. Allow to dry for 6 minutes (not the 8-10mins the bottle tells you to) and then peel everything off. Allow to dry a few hours before touching. I found that "less-is-more" so just about two light passes will be plenty, it will not look like there is anything on it, but when it dries it will look much more like etching rather than blotchy white spray paint.

 

***NOTE*** If you really do not like how the paint went on, then be sure keep the stencil on a the original plastic and then wipe the glass with 100% acetone, wash, allow to dry, reapply the stencil and try again...do not ask me how I know this works! ;0)

Well there you have it...I hope I have worked some of bugs out of this process and will make your decorative journey a bit smoother...who would have guessed that not all glass can be glass-etched! Heehee. Happy Tuesday to you all!