Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Mirror Makeover

Mirrors are a great source of decoration but they can be expensive, so I was excited when I found one for free. Anything free usually has issues and this mirror was no exception. It was pretty heavy and the wood was in rough shape. This thing needed a major makeover.





The first thing I did was sand the wood down and give it a good cleaning. 


This mirror had been in the back of a closet for years and had the dirt to prove it.


I knew I wasn't going to try to stay with this color or try to re-stain the wood so once I had a clean surface I primed the wooden frame.

I covered the mirror with newspapers (for obvious reasons) and used a white primer spray paint.


I wanted to get a denim look so I started with two coats of a cobalt blue acrylic paint that I had lying around. This one little bottle covered the entire frame.


Here is the mirror with the two coats of the cobalt blue. I wanted the "base" color to be lighter/brighter than the next color I would be adding for the combing effect I would be using later.


From cobalt blue to navy blue. I just did ONE coat of the nave over the cobalt.

Immediately after applying this coat of navy blue paint, I used these grain striping combs from Martha Stewart that I found at Michaels


 I chose which size comb I wanted and applied it vertically as well as horizontally until each side of the frame was done.


When the frame was painted and dried, I decided I wanted to add some "lace" or some sort of pattern to the denim effect of the frame.

I found some small doilies at the "Just $1" store in my town and some Mod Podge at the craft store. 

 
I cut 4 doilies with curves for each corner then cut more doilies in half to put along the edges.


Mod Podge is a craft adhesive as well as sealant. Some people apply it to both the object they are adhering as well as the surface they want to adhere the object to but because these doilies were on the thin side I just applied the Mod Podge to the mirror frame then stuck the the doilies to it.



Once I had all the doilies placed where I wanted, I sprayed the entire frame with a sealant. If I was using any other object besides a super thin one I would have no problem applying the Mod Podge over all the doilies to seal them to the frame (it dries clear) but, again, the doilies were thin.









Once the frame had dried completely I decided I wanted to stencil one of my favorite quotes to the bottom of the mirror and grabbed my stenciling supplies.


I've used both stencil brushes and stencil pouncers (foam) on projects but I have found that the brushes work best on mirrors. I've never stenciled letters and I'm pretty sure these particular paper stencils were not made for this type of project but I liked the font and was willing to take the risk. I'm so brave, I know.




One of the great things about using this particular paint line is you are able to mix in specific "effects" or finishes you want. Paint can look very thin on glass and I wanted the letters to look etched onto the mirror. 




I had used this etching finish once before on an old mirror that came with the house in one of the bathrooms. I painted the gold plated frame and stenciled some designs so we could hang it in our living room.


Back to this mirror.

I wiped the entire mirror surface with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any smudges or smears before stenciling.

I used painters tape and stenciled each letter.


There were a couple mistakes along the way but if I didn't like how a letter came out or got some paint outside the stencil lines, I just scraped the paint off with a toothpick or damp paper towel. 

Here is the entire stencil.


I've said this before but it is so difficult to take a picture of a mirror without getting myself or the flash in the reflection. There was a lot of balancing and contorting to get this just so you know.

This mirror didn't come with any hanging hardware attached, so I still need to acquire that, but here is the finished product before hanging.



The denim effect is more obvious in person but I think it's not too shabby considering how sad it looked in the beginning.

~ B