Wedding Blog

I often wonder how much money I waste on failed DIY projects.

I had fallen for these flutes from Brocade Home, but Mr. Fondue wanted a more traditional glass shape because he says it makes the champagne taste better.

Mama Fondue suggested trying to etch the damask shape myself. I looked up some instructions on how to do this and it didn’t seem too hard, so one afternoon I stopped by Hobby Lobby for some supplies.

I couldn’t find any Contact paper at the store, so I went with the next best thing: laminating paper.

I used my damask stamp as a guide, and slowly attempted to cut out the shape with a precision blade.

After several attempts, I finally got one cut out and tried to stick it to the glass. But the little narrow pieces wouldn’t stick. Frustrated, I called it a day and vowed to get real Contact paper from Wal-Mart the next day.

So, take two with the Contact paper! I took another shot of my supplies so I’d be able to give a helpful step-by-step on the blog. (Don’t you love how Oscar always manages to place himself in the supply shots?)

Again, I used the stamp as a guide and carefully cut out the shape. I stuck it to the glass, and it stuck better (for the most part). Happy with this, I applied the etching cream and waited for it to do its magic.

After 5 minutes or so, I rinsed the cream off, and to my dismay, the cream had bled underneath the Contact paper. This was the end result:

Note to readers: Aqua Net was not one of the supplies.

So now I had one normal toasting glass and one horribly etched one. How could I ever fix this?

I then recalled an idea that was posted on Real Simple. How about a rub-on transfer? So after work the next day, I again stopped by Hobby Lobby to procure some supplies. I found two transfers that I liked. I preferred the “To Have and To Hold” one, but figured it wouldn’t completely cover the etching. I didn’t want to buy another set of glasses, so I bought the second transfer as well. I guess I could have bought two of those, but I figured the glass with the etching was going to look different anyway, so I might as well make one the transfer I liked best.

The rub-on transfers brought back memories of childhood and of My Little Pony rub-ons, though I couldn’t possibly recall what I did with them. I tried my best to cover up the etchings with the transfer. I did pretty well, and I think now the etching actually adds something to it. I put the “To Have and To Hold” on the other glass. Who says they have to match? (My OCD is screaming at me right now.)

And the cost breakdown…
Cost of glasses: $7.50
Cost of final project’s supplies: $6
Cost of failed attempts’ supplies: $28

What do you think? Do you think I should have matching glasses instead? And does anyone know of any creative uses for clear Contact paper and laminating paper?