Engraving on Acrylic and Canning Lid is EASY!!! + Adding Ink Color!
When I engraved for the first time on Acrylic is was so darn easy I just had to laugh! Let me show you this easy tutorial on Cricut engraving on acrylic and canning lid and super helpful tips too! Yay!
Let me tell you there is nothing wrong with any laughs during my day, besides it excites my dog Star and my cat Whiskey 🐈🐶 99% of the time I am stepping over live pet bodies while crafting. During that 1% that they are in a different room all I need to do is laugh and BAM! They love to join in Momma’s excitement.
I bet you all have a ton of funny pet stories to share! Would love to read them in my comments section at the bottom of my post.
How about engraving on a canning lid?
Yup! Easy Peasy! I don’t know about you but I’ve always been in LOVE ❤ with canning jars and this includes their lids.
Plus special bonus, they make great gifts filled with a ton of different ideas and they can be re-used over and over and over.
The only hard part for me was trying to get a silly picture to show the engraving detail from a shiny canning lid…UGH!
Let me show you how easy it is to engrave with your engraving tip
I will also link to my YouTube video further down for step by step process in this post if you enjoy a more visual experience, I know I do!
Cricut Engraving Tip
Now there’s a close up for you LOL! Now here’s the thing. These new Cricut tips & blades for the Cricut Maker plus the scoring wheel’s have #’s to help identify them. Biggest take away for me here is not to confuse the engraving tip (#41) with the debossing tip (#21)
Supplies used in this Cricut Engraving Project
- Purple strong grip mat
- Cricut Maker
- Blue tape
- Cricut engraving tip
- Canning Jar with Lid (I used wide mouth)
- Soft cloth
- Acrylic canning jar blank
- Sharpie OIL BASED PAINT Markers OR
- Acrylic paint in a variety of colors
- If you use Sharpie OIL BASED PAINT Markers you will need this product to rub off excess paint from an acrylic surface
- Ruler (totally optional, I ended up using the lines on my Cricut mat) – Sometimes I just need a sliding gauge ruler and this one is my fav 💙
- Link to my Cricut DS File
Settings I chose in Cricut Design Space
- Acrylic = 2 mm size
- Canning Lid = Stainless Steel
I tested the Canning Lid several times with different metal settings. The best for me was the Stainless Steel one. None of the metal choices were engraved deep enough to be able to lay color (enamel ink or paint) into the engraved portion.
I was able to lay some colors in my acrylic piece which I’ll detail a bit later in this post. I also plan to make a video of exactly HOW to add color soon. I tested multiple products and spent hours investigating this.
My successful coloring choices
1. Sharpie (favorite)
This is not a regular Sharpie, it is an oil-based paint in a marker. This method takes a bit more elbow power to wipe off once dry BUT has the lasting power as opposed to acrylic paint or enamel marker.
When using a Sharpie marker on Acrylic it is imperative to use a quality medium to remove the excess paint off the acrylic piece to avoid serious scratches.
Since the Cricut engraving tip only engraves so deep it’s important to note you need to allow the marker/paint you apply to dry before wiping it off outside of the engraved area.
This is one of my favorite products to use on ANY plastic, it is a game-changer and can EVEN clean and remove scratches from your Cricut machines!!! Win-Win!!!
Besides arts and crafts, we use it on our boat and motorcycles!
Details from the Sharpie website here
If your acrylic piece will never get wet I’d go with the Acrylic Paint. If there is a chance of it getting wet I’d go with the Sharpie Markers for sure!
2. Acrylic Paint
The color options are incredibly enormous with acrylic paint if that is what you’re after. Also if struggling to wipe or polish off an oil-based marker I’d go with some type of acrylic paint. Just keep in mind it may need to be maintained as opposed to just cleaned in the future.
3. Enamel Markers
I feel like I need to mention enamel markers. Keep in mind enamel markers contain acrylic paint. They are fantastic for deeper impressions such as metal stamping. Yes, they are easier to wipe off but if you think about it if it’s so easy to wipe off how long is it REALLY going to last without sealing it. For me, I do not want to seal my acrylic engraved piece.
Some extra tips for coloring acrylic
- Do NOT use 100% Acetone to remove excess ink/paint/enamel etc as it will crack the acrylic and if left on long enough ruin the piece.
- Do NOT use 50% Acetone mixed with 50% Mineral Spirits or Paint Thinner as it still will crack the acrylic just not as much as the 100% Acetone.
- I’d still stick with the Novis #2 and use a bit of elbow grease to have a scratch-free long-lasting ink on my acrylic piece.
- 1st one on the left was using the Sharpie Markers and Novis 2
- The next one is with no ink, just the engraving
- 3rd one is with a 50/50 mixture of acetone/mineral spirits (has cracks on sides)
- 4th one is 100% acetone (has cracks on the sides)
- Note: It’s very difficult to get a picture of the cracks to show on the two on the right. In person, it’s very obvious and non-professional looking!
Cricut engraved acrylic and canning lid pictures
Video of Engraving on Acrylic and Canning lids really is easy!
I hope you enjoyed this article. In addition, I hope all my details did not take away from just how easy this project is.
If you missed my last post it was another Super Easy project which you can find here.
Share the love! Feel free to pin this picture below on Pinterest to review later or share this project ♥
Scroll ALL the way to the bottom if you’d like to leave me a comment about this project or your funny pet stories!
I’ve been canning for years but I have never decorated the jars. I will now with my CRICUT.
How exciting, Thank you
Hi Boni ~ Your very welcome. I can remember the days of only a sharpie and a sticker. The Cricut sure is amazing for expanding crafting to a whole new level. I am excited for you! ♥
Hello! I just found your article is very useful and what to paint on acrylic. When you compare the sharpie vs acrylic paint, which one is easier to manage? Does that mean acrylic paint will not last? Or sharpie last longer? Thanks!
Hi Joyce, Great question! My blog post was referring to “engraved” acrylic not smooth just so we are on the same page on my advice. I found the acrylic paint much easier to apply and wipe off excess. But, since acrylic is a water-based medium, it won’t have the lasting power as the “oil-based Sharpie Markers” (not a regular Sharpie Pen). As I mentioned in my blog post, if the engraved acrylic will never get wet, I’d use the acrylic paint and wipe off excess with water and a soft cloth or the “Novus 2” Product I mentioned. If the engraved acrylic will be getting wet or need to be washed and not just wiped gently off, then I’d use the “oil-based Sharpie Markers” and the “Novus 2” cleaner/fine scratch remover to wipe off excess. I hope this helps 😊