Craft Tuesday: How NOT to Frost Glass

I have seen frosting glass jars done several ways, most of which involve Armour Etch. I did not want to use that since it is a corrosive and I have a little one at home. Any chance of him getting ANY of that in/on him would be no good at all. So I saw the idea of using FolkArt Enamels in "Frost Medium." I honestly do not remember what website I saw this on, but their glass jar project turned out beautifully, as if they had used the real Armour Etch. I thought to myself "Fantastic! What a wonderful thing! I must print off a coupon and buy it straight away!"

And I did.

And I tried it.

And it did not work.

It really didn't fail terribly, this is true. It could have been much worse. It just didn't meet my expectations.

Perhaps my technique was not up to par, but I used a foam brush and the frosting ended up having brush strokes in it. It actually turned out to look pretty cool (my fiance said it reminded him of woodgrain), but it was not the desired "frosted" look for which I was aiming. And the "stencils" I used did not work at all (although, I believe that it just because they were too thick). So here is what I did, and what you SHOULDN'T do. Even though I wasn't entirely successful, I would like you to learn from my mistakes and then you will be able to do it on your own!


I started with another failed project, so maybe this jar is just jinxed. Remember the hot glue gun art project? I started with hot gluing on a jar, and it peeled off? Yah, that jar.

You will need:

• Glass object to be frosted
• FolkArt Enamels in Frost Medium (if you so desire) or Armour Etch
• Sponge brush
• A flat stencil (like a flat sticker or even tape for a simple design)

First I cleaned the jar and then wiped it completely dry.  I then applied my "stencil." I chose some foam letters to spell out "NOEL." These letters were entirely too thick and the frost paint built up around the edges. Mistake #1.

Right side: No frost
Left side: Single coat of frost

Next I poured some frost paint onto a paper plate. Using a sponge brush I did a VERY light coat (mistake #2) of frost paint vertically around the jar. I would suggest doing a heavier coat (not so thick that you can't see through it) and letting it dry longer.

I then decided I wanted to apply a second coat that went horizontally. Mistakes #3 and #4. I didn't wait long enough between coats, and since I was working AGAINST the direction of the previous coat, it pulled up the previous coat. Oops. Also, I ended up not liking the cross-hatched look it created, but that's more of a personal opinion thing than a real mistake.

After I did 4 coats, I peeled off the stencils. They looked horrible. Like I said, the letters I chose were just all wrong. When YOU do this project, please, please learn from AT LEAST that mistake.

 So, the side of the jar WITHOUT stencils (above) turned out fairly well. You could see the texture from the brush, which I wasn't aiming for, but it is kind of a cool look.

Then I had an idea. I see people tinting jars with mod podge+paint, so what would happen if I swirled some of THIS on the inside of another glass jar? Luckily I had a spare, cleaned-out baby food jar. So I tested it and gave it a milk-glass look, and then when it dried completely it looked frosted, but there were some air bubbles. Pretty neat, but it took A LOT of paint for such a little jar. Perhaps if I have actually mixed it with Mod Podge. I just wasn't on my A game that night, was I?


So I wish I could have had a more successful project, but I think that one cannot really be creative unless they fail every once in a while.

Let me know what you have done or want to try using frosting or glass jars! Comment or submit your pictures and project ideas to be featured on Brag Thursday. I can't wait to hear all of your terrific ideas!