Decorating Glass Blocks

 I scored some inexpensive glass blocks from an online ad.  The first one I did, I used vinyl and put a tried and true file on.

It took three tries to get this done!  Whether it was the humidity, the sign of the moon, or the time of the year, nothing was working right.  The first one I applied was so full of air bubbles I thought I'd never get them all worked out.  Then, when the light hit the block just right, you could see the pin holes in the black vinyl.  So, I kept doing it until I got it right!

The nativity scene block was done the same afternoon as the Harley Davidson one.  This one went on so smoothly and it took very little time to get it etched.

 I reverse etched this one.  There's a lot of surface on the block to etch!  These things weigh about five pounds and it was tricky to support it in the blasting cabinet.

 Since I've decided not to drill holes in the blocks and insert lights, I set one up with a votive candle behind it to see just how well the clear letters would show up.  I think this looks better than having a string of lights in the bottom of the block.

Thinking that there would be some people, like myself, that don't burn candles, I etched the surface of the block and applied gold metallic Oracal 651 lettering on one.
The file I used for this is from the Silhouette store.  I even managed to use their studio software to cut these!  Make The Cut is my go-to program to use.

For my Cameo I used Speed 2, Thickness 5, Blade 7 and double cut.  From what I've read online, settings vary quite a bit from machine to machine and the brand of vinyl you're cutting so these may not work well for you.

These are for a craft show coming up in December.  I'll be adding a large bow around the sides and maybe some greenery.  There's not enough room for me to store them in my craft area if I embellish them now.

I still have a few blocks to embellish but I know if I do them all now I'll see something later that I'll want to try and not have one to use.  Now that I've used up all my glass cutting boards, I keep seeing things that are so cute and am wishing I had more to play with!