Broken Mirror Mayhem
Hi and Welcome Back! Okay, mayhem may be a bit of a strong word, but here is what happened. I have a hard time at Hobby Lobby. It is one of the few options we have here in our little town, and everybody rants and raves about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love it if I need certain supplies and I’m very thankful I don’t have to drive an hour to the city to get stuff. But when it comes to the decor, I can’t ever picture how I’m going to use something. I like things, but I just can’t seem to think of where to use them, or the thing I can use is too expensive, so I end up not buying anything and getting home with nothing. I have the same problem with clothes, which is why you’ll see me recycle the same 3 pair of jeans and handful of tee-shirts over and over again.
Anywho, the last time I was there I decided to check the clearance section just for fun. I popped over and found a “captain’s mirror”. It was perfect, and bonus – it was marked WAY down from $130 to $20! This never happens to me, I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited! I had the perfect spot, I love the idea of a mirror close to the door. You know, so you can “check yourself” before you head out. I had a spot where I was going to hang it, right by the front door and right as you head down the hall. It looked very similar to this one.
Well, you can probably see where this is going. As soon as I pulled up, I grabbed it out of the car and when I did I dropped it and it shattered all over the driveway. Boo!! Cleaning it up was super fun (insert super dramatic Liz Lemon eye roll here). It was ruined, but I was bound to use the cool wooden circle and leather strap for something. My poor husband was kind enough to put on some heavy duty gloves and get all the remaining glued on pieces of broken mirror out of the frame for me. I just couldn’t do it myself, it was too much broken glass.
Then I had to figure out what I was going to do. I tried to find a replacement mirror, but no luck. The cheapest thing I found was about $60 and it wouldn’t even fit perfectly.
I had remembered seeing at Wal – Mart those pieces of round glass that you use to put on top of a table.
I grabbed one for around $8. Then I found this stuff, so I thought I would make my own mirror.
Well, maybe I used it wrong, I don’t know, but it did not work well for me. It looked like a very hazy, clouded, dirty mirror. VERY hazy. I tried to follow directions very carefully, and I use spray paint all the time, but this didn’t work. I used the whole bottle (maybe 6 coats). Maybe another bottle would have done the trick, but I don’t know.
So, that idea wasn’t going to work. I started looking through some inspiration photos on Pinterest (like I always do), and saw THIS tutorial from My Own Home Blog on how to make letters look “rusted”.
Look at those beautiful letters! And, she uses cinnamon!! So, that gave me an idea.
I grabbed some $1 wooden letters from the craft section at Wal-Mart. They were very basic wooden letters. I used my glass circle, the letters and the rusting technique to create a personalized pic with our initials. I first sprayed the glass with some leftover Rustoleum Metallic Aged Copper and then used the cinnamon and the spray paint in layers until it looks like I wanted it too. I also had a can of Rustoleum Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze that I used to layer in. When I got it looking like I wanted, coated it all with a clear protective coat, so the cinnamon wouldn’t flake off.
Then I did the same thing with the letters (visit My Own Home Blog for full details), but used metallic acrylics in grey and copper. I then glued and clamped the letters to the glass until they were completely dry. I waited about 2 days, just to be safe.
This is right after I put the glue on, pre-clamp. I made sure to wipe all that excess glue off.
The last problem was that the circle wasn’t quite big enough for the frame. But, that’s not really a problem. I hung the frame where I wanted it and traced along the outside and inside of the frame. Then I removed the frame and painted the wall inside the frame black. I was careful to make sure to go just past the inside line, but to not go past the outside line.
Once everything was dry, I re-hung the frame and then I hung the glass (with command strips), directly on the wall in the center of the frame. It is hard centering a circle in a circle, but that is why I love command strips. If something isn’t “just right” you can tweak it until it’s perfect.
So, it wasn’t the mirror I wanted but, for about another $15, I created a unique piece of wall art. And my kids always love when I put our initials on anything.
And Bonus!! It’s been hanging for a month or so and it still smells like cinnamon when I walk past! YUM!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
-April
April, you’re super women! Way to get crafty and creative. I really like what you did and MAJOR bummer on the broken mirror. Bonus: still smells like cinnamon LMAO!!!!
Haha! Thanks Sara! I’m still a little bummed about the mirror, but I’ll just have to find another one :).
Wow, this is super creative! If I would’ve broken the mirror I would have had a temper tantrum, thrown it out and forgotten about it forever. I love what you did with it!!!
Haha, thanks Allison. I did have a bit of a tantrum before I realized it was just a mirror. I am stubborn, though, so I was determined to get something out of it :).
Love it! I could have never thought of that, it’s very chic!
Thanks Mary!
This looks so cool. I like how you “aged” the letters….After reading how your mirror broke when you pulled in, I was thinking about how I would have reacted…I think I would have cried. It is a bummer that the looking glass spray paint did not work. I have used the “looking glass, mirror-like spray by Krylon” and have had astounding results. I think your spray paint you purchased was suppose to give off a silver finish instead of a mirror finish (the can looks totally different than the ones I have purchased). No worries though, your piece looks great! It looks like you picked it up at Urban Outfitters! Love it!
Jess, that is great to know about the spray paint, I’ll have to look more closely next time. I was bummed it didn’t work. Thanks for the awesome feedback!!
I love this personalized wall art! Your home is coming along quite nicely 🙂
Thanks Yanique!
Ooo I LOVE the smell of cinnamon! And fall is right around the corner so perfect timing! I’m glad you figured out a way to repurpose the broken mirror for something fun! (I’m right there with you about hoblob-you walk in thinking you’ll get a steal and come out so sad!) but I love your combo of layering cinnamon with this spray and all. Way to be resourceful! Thanks for sharing this!:)
Thanks Ariel! This cinnamon is so nice, I’ll be sad when it eventually fades away!
Girl, you are so clever! Great upcycle!
Thank you Jen!
oh, what a bummer the mirror broke! That is my kind of luck! Your finished project came out awesome…I believe it was meant to be a piece of wall art all along!
haha, that’s a great perspective! Thanks :)!
SOOO CUTE!! Love this!!! PINNED!
Thank you so much!
I love this! I am sure the original mirror was lovely, but this is great and a happy mistake. It is so frustrating when you try something and it does not come out right. We have all been there. I am loving this!
Thank you so much Emily! Maybe it’ll be for the best :).
I always look forward for your post to get some home decor ideas. Thanks for sharing such great content.
Thank you so much Gunjan! Glad you stopped by. 🙂
Wow, that’s very creative! Mine would have gone to the bin!
I’ve seen your upcycles Agatha, so I doubt it, haha!! Thanks for coming by!
I love this idea. You are so creative! This takes a lot of thought and precision for sure.
Thanks Tirralan!
it’s funny how disasters often turn out better than you would have ever intended. I love the finished product! ps i LOVE hobby lobby and was shocked to read your hesitation about shopping there but I get it LOL
I know I feel like something is wrong with me that I can’t find stuff there! But I’m trying again today, haha ;). Thanks for coming by!
Congrats on the great find! And your brilliant solution!
Here from Merry Monday.
Thanks Melinda! Glad you stopped by!
Soooo cool! You really turned a bummer into something personal and special! Thanks so much for sharing and linking up on Friday Favorites!
Thanks Heather!
Hey, April ~ I’m sorry you had such trouble with this piece! But I’m also sort of glad, because now I get to see this amazing project you came up with! :0) I love how you used the different spray paints and the cinnamon. Such a cool technique!! Thanks for persevering and sharing!!
Thank so much Tiffany!! You are so sweet, thanks for stopping by :).
Good on you for taking a crappy situation and turning it into an awesome DIY!
Thank you Sarah!
Kudos for looking on the bright side when a project doesn’t turn out how you initially envisioned (I’ve had plenty of those myself). I think your wall art looks awesome as is, and I’m like your kiddos….I love my initials on everything too! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Merry Monday! We hope you’ll join us again next week! 🙂
Thanks so much Christine! I’ll be back!
I actually like this better now than with the mirror! The cinnamon technique is pure genius and I love that you found a creative way to make use of your find! Thank you for sharing at Talented Tuesdays!
Thanks so much Amy!