Wednesday, August 15, 2012

She Doesn't Measure Up - A Make Do Mirror

I've been needing a mirror to hang above the sink in my Lavender bathroom.  I actually had a lovely frame hanging there, but as Edward will tell you - nothing stays in one place for very long around here.  Since I really liked that frame for one of my daughter's wedding pictures.......well, you know how that goes.


I found this old frame at a garage sale for $2 - steal - and was pretty sure it was about the right size.  It was kind of ugly with its unattractive paint job, but I liked how old it was.  Also, the space above my sink is kind of touchy because the mirror needs to hang between two sconces, but be long enough to cover the insides of an old medicine cabinet.  I also like a frame with chunkier ornamentation and this was kind of wimpy, but I decided it would do for now.


Since the frame is a non standard size, I realized I would need to have a piece of mirror cut.  Needless to say, I don't think the glass shop and I agreed on how precious their mirrors were, so I decided to make do with what I could find around here.


I actually had a mirror that fit the width of the frame, but was about 4 inches too short.  I also had some other pieces of mirror that I could cut to make up those 4 inches.  Cutting glass is actually quite easy and just requires a little practice.  If you've never done this - just look up how to on google and give it a try.  It's a pretty handy skill to have.


After cutting the piece of mirror, I glued both pieces to a backing of mat board.  I wanted to make sure the mirrors butted tightly against each other.  Next, I glued (using E6000 glue) some rhinestone trim to the seam and also to the top of the mirror to create an area of interest.


I pondered several ideas to give this area some focus and embellishment, and finally decided on this little ornament I picked up somewhere.  [OK, I also bought it at the SGS (some garage sale.)]


The crowning touch really and truly was this crown I purchased at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off ($6), and painted creamy white.  I think I might still add a few rhinestones and chip it up a little, but I'm still deciding on that.

What is exciting to me about creating things from found objects is how surprisingly beautiful some projects turn out to be.  My plan was to make do with this mirror until I found something I liked better, but the truth is - I really love how this turned out.  For $8 plus materials I had on hand, I think this mirror turned out stunning and actually measures up quite nicely.


Thanks for stopping by.  It feels sooo good to be back!



2 comments:

  1. Your mirror looks great! We have a glass store here that cuts mirror really cheap. I feel lucky for that because a lot of people say it is usually expensive. Your bathroom looks pretty:)

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