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After making my limoncello I couldn't just store it in any old bottles so I decided to gussy up some bottles that I bought at Ikea with some glass etching.

To start I sketched out a lemon slice design on a piece of cardstock. I traced around the bottom of two different sized bottles to make the inner and outer circles. I then drew three lines through the circles to mark where I wanted to draw the segments and then sketched them in. Once I was satisfied I colored in the areas to discard and then cut it out to make a template. I then traced the pattern onto pieces of shelf liner vinyl, cut it out and then adhered it to my glass bottles.

Following the instructions, I applied a thick layer of etching cream to the bottle over the design area not masked by the vinyl. The etching cream is corrosive so it is important to take safety precautions by using gloves and protecting your work surface. Also with the round bottle I had problems with the cream sliding down the side so I had to keep an eye on it and wipe drips before they went past the vinyl and onto the glass.

After the cream set on the bottle for 10 minutes, I rinsed it off and removed the vinyl from the bottle. By being careful when I was removing the vinyl I was able to reuse it on another bottle. The etching is light so it is a subtle look, but I like it. Also, since this could be any citrus slice I can easily reuse the bottles later for lemonade at a party or orange juice at a brunch.

To finish off my bottles I added a little tag with "limoncello" written on them and tied them to the bottles with some string. Now my bottles look cute enough to match the deliciously sweet limoncello inside.

Have you ever done any glass etching? Did it work well for you? Did you try a different method?