CUTE COW PITCHER by Kathie Camara

I found this white pitcher at a local thrift store and thought it would look good as a Cute Cow Pitcher, as cows are pretty popular right now.  I was going to look for an SVG file for my Silhouette cutting machine, but thought, many of you might not have a cutting machine. So, I decided to cut a stencil the old fashioned way, with an Xacto knife.   I found a really cute cartoon cow by Googling free Clip Art Cows and downloaded it into my computer and inserted it into a Word document. The words “Got Milk” were just typed into the word document and sized to fit the design. 

I printed out the design in color and in black & white. The black & white cow was glued onto a piece of Self Adhesive Vinyl Sheet, available on the Etchall site. (I used a glue stick). Starting out with scissors, and finishing with an Xacto knife, I cut around the entire design, weeded out the inside of the design, applied the transfer tape to the vinyl design, and then applied the vinyl design to the thoroughly clean and dry pitcher. As I always do, I made sure the transfer was securely attached and then I added some extra blue painters tape around the design in case I got the Etchall Cream where I did not want it. 

I made sure that the round pitcher would not roll from its laying down position, then applied the Etchall etching cream and set my timer for 15 minutes.  

After 15 minutes I used the black plastic squeegee and scraped off the etching cream and put it back in the jar.  (YES, you can reuse this cream over and over, Even if the color has turned from white to Chocolate!)   Then, I removed the outer stencil and wiped the glass off with an unscented baby wipe, polished it with a paper towel and washed any remaining Etchall cream off the surface.   

The Etchall Cream took the glaze off of the pitcher and gave it some ‘tooth’ for me to apply color. Before I started painting, I outlined the cow design so I could see it better.   My outlining tool is a Sakura Identipen. It is the only pen I have found that does not spread when it is sprayed with clear coat. 

I did not have to basecoat the design as the cow is the same color as the pitcher. Instead of using paint on the pitcher, I used my Tombow brush pens. Any brand of brush pens will do.  They have a thin point on one end and a soft brush-like point on the other end. They worked very well on the etched surface. I followed the design and colored in the cow as it looked in the photo. 

For the lettering, I taped the words to the pitcher, slid a small piece of carbon paper under the wording (you can also use transfer paper), and traced over the letters with a ball point pen. Once the paper was removed, I filled in the letters using the Identipen. 

After coloring and lettering the design, I set the pitcher aside for about a half hour to make sure the pen ink was completely dry. Then I sprayed the design lightly with Krylon Fusion, Clear Finish, Satin paint, let it dry for 5 minutes and sprayed it lightly again.   It came out so cute.

Here are some tips for spraying an art piece: 

Spray Painting Tips: 

Make sure to spray in a well ventilated area. Spray very lightly for the first coat to avoid runs. Allow piece to dry, then spray each successive coat lightly. In order to properly spray the piece, you want to overspray. Do not aim the spray at the piece, but start spraying to the left of the piece and continue to spray past the surface to the right. Take note of the temperature directions on the can. Cold spray paint will not work well.  

Remember to always use Etchall etching cream in your projects. It was voted the BEST by crafters. 

You can click here to order from the Etchall site and I will get a small stipend that will help me to keep giving you these free tutorials. Thanks.

I hope you enjoy this project. Always remember to “Have A Colorful Day”

Kathie Camara, 

Etchall Designer & Fused Glass Artist