Mirror Mirror on the Wall

         Welcome to the newest version of our blog! I am so excited to be sharing another fun project with all of you. This project was actually an outgrowth from the buffet remodel I shared a couple weeks ago. Once I was done with the buffet, I needed something to hang above it! I l-o-v-e sunburst mirrors BUT they are incredibly expensive sooo I started thinking of different ways to do it myself!

I also looove Hobby Lobby, so I headed there to see what I could find (with two little boys in tow). We ultimately decided on 3/16” X 36” hardwood dowels which can be found in the unfinished wood section. They were only $0.29 a piece (which is good because I needed about 50 of them)! Score! And I was cutting them in half so they were really only about $0.14 per piece. The mirror was also an inexpensive Hobby Lobby find; an 8” round decorative mirror plate. I used a 40% off coupon and got it for about $3.  Total cost of mirror project=about $20. Yes!

(P.S. If you download the Hobby Lobby app for your phone you can use a 40% off one item coupon)

Materials List:

50- 3/8” X 36” hardwood dowels

1-round decorative mirror plate

Hot glue gun

Lots of hot glue gun sticks

Picture frame hook to hang it

Step one: I cut the dowels at all different lengths ranging from 15”-20”. I used a small hand saw that I borrowed from my Dad. It’s called a 10-in Handi-Hacksaw by Kobalt. It’s about $7-$8 at Lowes. Inexpensive and works great!

Step two: I placed some blue painters tape on the back of the mirror to show where I should start gluing my dowels.

Step three: I started gluing my dowels on the blue tape (I used A LOT of hot glue). I started with one or two dowels on each piece of tape going around the whole mirror as seen here:

Step four: I kept gluing the dowels in varying lengths all around the mirror until all the spaces were filled in.

Step five: I attached the picture frame hook at this point so I could just hang it when I was done. Don’t be afraid to use a ridiculous amount of hot glue (I did)!!

Step six: Ready to spray paint! I used Valspar spray paint in “La Fonda Mirage,” (its a very light teal). It took two cans of paint for this baby!! I cut a circle out of printer paper then taped the edges with blue painters tape to keep paint from getting on the mirror. I put the mirror face down and did two coats then flipped it and did two more! Make sure to get all the little nooks and crannies on the dowels. Unfortunately this spray can was a flat paint. Boo. So I had to seal and gloss up the paint with a separate Valspar clear satin sealer. Just one coat of this and I was done! 

And the finished product…. I think it turned out great and filled the space above the buffet perfectly!

         This mirror was only one of many many types of sunburst mirrors you can make. Change the size of the mirror plate, shorten the dowels, use paint stir sticks for the sunbeams, adjust the color to fit your decor, the possibilities are endless! I hope this was helpful for all you DIYers. A beautiful mirror for $20! Thanks for letting me share! Have a wonderful rest of the week!

                xoxo,

                         Katie