DIY Gold Sunburst Mirror

This was supposed to be a project for my new office, but it ended up finding a home in my living room. It was a much larger scale than I anticipated but I love how it turned out. 

I was instantly inspired by this DIY mirror project by The Lettered Cottage. Thank you Christy for pinning it! I already had the circle mirror and it looked like something I could make. 

I picked up a bunch of .59 cent wood dowels from Hobby Lobby and cut them into 3 different lengths with this little hand saw. It was not the easiest way to cut them, but it worked!

I roughly configured the ray pattern while my hot glue gun heated up.

I drew a crosshatch on the back of the mirror to locate the top, bottom, left and right center points. This provided a reference for symmetry. Symmetry! 

Then I worked, very s-l-o-w-l-y to glue each dowel on, one by one. It. Took. A. Long. Time. I will say this, when it comes to gluing these on, less glue is more. The ones that I gobbed glue on and slathered both sides, were the ones that fell off and needed repair. About 5 of those little lessons learned. Thankfully, the glue dried quickly, and once it was set, they were good to go.

Once they were all in place, I  spray painted the entire thing with gold metallic spray paint. I removed the backing and the mirror, which made it even easier to paint. A few coats later and it looked great! 

My new mirror really pops against the gray wall in our living room. It makes quite a statement above our console table! I really like it. The cork mirror was relocated to the kitchen (in case you were wondering). It looks even better sitting on a red wall.

This antiqued metal gold mirror retails for $355. Yowza. Mine cost $16. Granted, this one is metal and has a lot more rays and detailing than mine. But gluing on that many dowels? Ain't nobody got time for that! 

If you're looking for a DIY wall art project that will add impact to any space, without a huge price tag, this mirror fits the bill. It would be fun in any color!

Supplies:
Round mirror
Wood dowels
hot glue
gold spray paint

 

Corky Mirror

I had been collecting wine corks for years, waiting for the right project to use them for. I also wanted to jazz up the mirror above our console table. One day, I put the two ideas together and decided to cover the wooden framed mirror with corks. A win-win! 

This is what the inexpensive wooden framed mirror looked like before. I actually have two of these, so I wasn't that worried about making a mistake. There are quite a few wood finishes in our living room, so I wanted add texture to this piece to create some visual interest. 

I gathered my cork collection to take stock. 

And roughly planned out the design on the floor. Even though I had many corks (we like wine, what can I say?), I still needed more. I solicited my family and friends collections as well, and they came through - big time! Turns out, we're not the only ones who enjoy vino (and save the corks). A BIG thank you to those who contributed! You know who you are. I couldn't have completed this project without your generous donations :) 

I used craft Wood Glue for the first time, and it dried quickly and held every cork in place. 

Truth be told, patience was the biggest requirement for this project. It took quite a while to pick out the right size corks and line them up to fit around the frame. Each cork is unique in size, so it was a puzzle fitting them together. 

I like the typography, graphics, quotes and sayings on each one. I ended up using exactly 200 corks! Real ones too, none of the plastic ones. 

Aside from one troublesome corner, it turned out as good as I hoped!

It makes for a much more interesting mirror, and I finally got to use wine corks for a project. 

There are SO many inspiring cork projects - these were all found via Pinterest. I still have corks leftover and may try another idea.

Anyone else have a collection of wine corks they've been saving? Anyone put them to good use? I like finding ways to repurpose items like this. Put a cork on it!