Butterfly Tealight Lantern

by Kathie Camara, Artist & Designer

I found this gorgeous purple glass lantern at my local thrift store and just knew that I had to etch and paint something beautiful on it.  The first step is always to thoroughly clean the glass with alcohol.

I googled and printed out a photo of an Orange flower and a Blue Morpho butterfly, and made a pattern from the two. 

 I used the outline of the entire pattern to cut a mask out of some vinyl and, after cutting out and removing the inside of the mask, I taped the vinyl onto the glass.   

Blue painters tape was used on the outer edges of the mask so the etching cream wouldn’t get onto the glass where I didn’t want it to be.  

I applied the Etchall Etching Cream to the entire front of the vase, putting it on about ¼” thick, like icing a cake. Now I set my timer for 15 minutes.  

After 15 minutes I used the plastic squeegee tool to scrape off the etching cream and put it back into the jar.  (Remember, you can reuse this cream over and over?) 

I wiped the glass off with a paper towel, then thoroughly washed the Lantern to make sure I got all the etching cream off. (If there is some etching cream left on the glass, it will cause the paint to lift, so be thorough.)   Now, let the Lantern dry thoroughly.

Using some white transfer paper, I traced the pattern onto the etched area.   Then I got out the colors of DecoArt Glass Paint that I wanted to use.
Using different shades of blue, I filled in the wings of the butterfly, then the black on the outer edges of the wings.  The orange flower and the green leaves were painted once the butterfly wings were dry.  

When all of the basecoated pieces were dry, I added veins on the leaves and details to the flower and the wings of the butterfly, including the white dots and the black lines.  You can use a black Identipen to draw the black lines on the wings and the antenna. 

I can bake the Lantern to cure the paint, or I can let it dry for 21 days.  I’m not in a hurry, so I just set it aside to dry and cure. This will make a wonderful gift for someone special or I just may keep it myself.

I hope you enjoyed this project.  And, as always, have a Colorful Day.

 If you need to purchase Etchall Etching Cream or Dip n Etch, please click on the link below.  I make a small stipend if you purchase through my my site.  It helps me to keep on posting these free projects for you.