little spoon mirror

Awhile back, I made a sunburst mirror out of recycled bits and silver spoons from the thrift store. My mom liked it so much that she specially requested one of her own, but smaller.

Well, it took me awhile to dig up enough baby and souvenir spoons at junk stores and yard sales, but I finally did it, just in time for her birthday this year!

It's a quick project once you have the materials. The mirror is a plastic-backed utility mirror I found at Bring, and I admit that I just hot-glued the sixteen little spoons directly to the back. Those that had dangly bits or handles that were too long or too wide were cut with tin snips first. Oh! And I alternated fronts and backs for some added interest.

I had a partial sheet of adhesive felt furniture pad that makes a good backing. It's thick, so the spoons won't be sitting directly on the wall, and soft so nothing scrapes. The hanger is made from a plastic coated paper clip sunk into the felt with the ends bent back on the other side. And then, for security, more hot glue holds everything in place.

I don't usually use hot glue so liberally in projects, but there was no place on this mirror to rivet or wire the spoons in place. In situations like this (small, light projects without an extended base) it's a good choice that'll last a nice, long time.

Happy birthday, Mom! Love you a bunch.

Linking up to:

My Repurposed Life

mod sunburst mirror (size large)

Hey everyone! This is my final official entry in this season's So You Think You're Crafty? competition. I'll get a full tutorial up eventually (because this project is not only easily adaptable to a variety of supplies, but is also, dare I say, lovely), but in the meantime, you can read here, in its perfectly formatted entirety, the project I posted there last week. Thank you a million times for your votes and your support, those of you who voted and supported. It was a wild competition!

When I first saw the theme for this week back in December, I knew right away what I wanted to make. Metallic? Check. Shine? Check. Glitter? . . . well, I left out the glitter, but I think I used enough metal to make up for it (and like my husband's always saying about his motorcycle, "It's not glitter; it's metal-flake"). My choice was obvious: A large mid-century modern sunburst mirror.

I lucked out and scored the abandoned, gold-colored aluminum tent poles for $3 at the same rebuilding store (shout out, again, to Bring!) where I found the 75-cent, 4-inch convex mirror and the two light fixture bases ($1 and 50 cents, respectively). It's just that I found them several weeks apart, when I was sure my project was doomed and I wasn't at all sure what I was looking for. Sometimes projects just come together that way.

My project is the result of some amazingly lucky finds (and is nearly two feet across, at its widest point), but this is a pretty versatile project. My tutorial will show you how to make it using dowels, chopsticks, twigs, etc. Everyone can make their own huge mod sunburst mirror! If, like a magpie, you love things shiny, give it a vote!

 

Linking up to:

The CSI Project

old clock + looking glass paint = convex "mercury glass" mirror

I told you I'd be back with more spray paint on glass! Woohoo! I'm following through!

I saw the idea for this project somewhere, but it's not on my Pinterest boards so I'm afraid I don't remember whose idea this project spawned from. Basically, the idea was to take an old clock (found this one at BRING; it wasn't repairable by me for use as a clock). . .

Remove the backing and clockwork. Turn the glass face down on some cardboard . . .

Spray the backside of the glass lightly with water . . .

Spray over the water with a light layer of the looking glass paint . . .

Wait for it to dry. Spray over the surface again with water and another light layer of the looking glass paint (it doesn't need to be solid). When dry, flip over and check your work . . .

Replace backing and hang!

I pulled some pretty cool brass gears and other worky-bits out of the back, too, for use in a future project . . . stay tuned.


Once I had the mirror up and had hung some other things around it, I realized the cord from my 5-cent pendant shade looked pretty crappy in photos.

See? Totally crappy. Dangerous, too. So I took some cord clips and a little light weight hammer . . .

And I fastened the cord to the ceiling and wall along the trim.

Much better. A little paint will help, too, eventually, and spacing things more carefully.

But those are just asides that will make the mirror wall look better. People who've been in our house are also getting a nice peek here at the new room color. More on that soon!

So, have you been spray painting any glass lately? Making any mirrors? Making ridiculously simple fixes like attaching cords to your walls so your house doesn't look like the underside of a computer desk? Link it up in the comments. I promise I'll come visit!

p.s. You can make these photos larger just by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that.

Linking up to:

My RePurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

re - design : spoon sunburst mirror

Young House Love's Pinterest Challenge was issued last week, and it was just the motivation I needed to get off my duff and get a project started!

My Pinspiration:




Pinned by a Pinterest user a few weeks back, from Marie Claire Idees (although I've since seen it on the Country Living website as well).

I nixed the plastic spoons, backed a small mirror with a galvanized pipe collar from the hardware store, and surrounded the mirror with silver-plated spoons and forks from the thrift store.




The mirror (6 inches) is attached to the 3-inch pipe collar using mirror adhesive (3 inches is the measurement of the hole on the pipe collar; the actual disk is approximately 12 inches in diameter). The silverware is attached to the pipe collar using epoxy and wired through drilled holes. Total cost of this project is under $20.

It doesn't really look anything like the original pin, but in a way, that's what I like most about it. I let the original materials inspire me to make something similar, but really different and completely my own.

If you want more specifics, leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail, and I can walk you through the steps. If there's enough interest, I may just post a follow-up blog. Thanks for reading and looking!



Hey cool! This project earned a top ten spot at The CSI Project blog!