Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Mini Sunburst Mirrors

I know, I know...I bet you're wondering when I am going to get to that room!  My excuse is, it rained all week long.  Today was our first day of great sunshine and hopefully it will continue so I can get some good pictures.  Plus it was spring break and I couldn't torture my kids while I fluffed my room!
I have been wanting mini sunburst mirrors for a long time. I love the sporadic look of the small mirrors on a wall.  Sadly for me, the mini mirrors are hard to find and expensive.

I stumbled upon tiny convex mirrors in the auto section in Wal-Mart!  You know, the mirrors that go on a bus or a RV, or the mirrors that catch people stealing in a convenient store? :)  
There are a couple different varieties, the mirrors pictured have a slant to them and were difficult to get out of the casing. The best mirrors are the rubber rimmed, they pull out easily. 
I traced some of my favorite sunburst images onto paper...yep, right off the computer screen!
Then I traced the shapes onto mdf and cut them out with a scroll saw.  I didn't take any pictures of the cutting process, because this was REALLY impulsive and I wasn't sure if it was even going to work. 
I had to break off my plastic slanted casing, so I replaced it with cording. 
On the "spikey" mirror, I drilled holes and added skewers. 
Then I covered the mirror part with paper and gave them all a good spray of gold paint.
For any over spray I found that finger nail polish remover cleaned it off easily.  I was surprised that it didn't ruin the inexpensive finish on the mirrors.  The mirrors do scratch very easily.
They turned out fun- for an impulsive, sidetracked craft.  I was able to use scraps and paint I already had, so the only cost for me was in the mirrors, about $10.00.

I will be back soon...(I promise)...with the room! :)

3 comments:

  1. You'd better! I've been dying to see the finished product. Yes- I'm a blog stalker. I can't help it- especially when all your ideas are so super cute! Thanks for all the creative inspiration!

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  2. I absolutely love these!!!! And the rope...omg, what a great idea!!!

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