Who would have guessed the automotive parts shop would be a great DIY home decor resource? Allison's Starburst Mirror project takes a simple $2.99 auto blind spot mirror and makes it into something for the home...something beautiful. Click above for the pics and head below for all the instructions. Give Allison a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....
BEFORE
TOOLS:
- 1 convex mirror (sold at automotive stores as a blind-spot mirror)
- 1 cardboard disc the same size as the convex mirror (about 1/2" thick). A wooden disc could work as well.
- 12" dowel rods
- 12" skewers
- Permanent marker
- Mounting hardware
- Ruler
- Silver-leaf water-based gold-leaf
- Sizing brushes
- Hot glue
- Round mosaic mirrors in 3 sizes (100 mirrors in total)
STEPS:
- First, the plastic around the convex mirror had to be removed. It was held in place with glue but was able to be removed with steam.
- Next, I found the center of the cardboard disc and used a permanent marker to divide the disc into 16 equal segments with a ruler (like a pizza).
- Then I hot-glued the dowel rods directly on the lines so the dowels would be evenly spaced and radiate out from the disc. I then added a wooden skewer in between the dowels for variety.
- After everything was glued in place, I brushed on a water-based gold-leaf sizing and let it sit until tacky (about 30 minutes).
- After it was tacky, I took 1 sheet of silver leaf at a time and began to cover the dowels, skewers and center with it. I used a brush to adhere the silver leaf to the sizing and brushed away any excess.
- After everything was silver leafed, I used hot glue to adhere the convex mirror on top of the smooth side of the center disc. (The dowels were glued to the back).
- I then randomly hot glued the small round mirrors to the skewers and dowels (approx. 3 mirrors per "arm").
- Mounting hardware was then hot glued to the finished mirror.
RESOURCES: An automotive parts store was my best source for this project. I found a convex mirror for $2.99!
Give Allison a THUMBS UP if you find this project helpful....
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Yay for hot glue! This seems like a fun, simple, and inexpensive alternative project.
So you found 100 round mosaic mirrors in 3 sizes for around $20 or less? Would love some resources for that...
woah - this is clever. good thinking
Can anyone ID those pillowcases/sheets? Please?
Thumbs up!
But I'd like to hear where you got all this stuff except for the big mirror. Craft store?
Love the paint color and have been trying to find something similar - do you remember the actual color?
Thanks for all of the votes and comments everyone! I see quite a few questions, so I'll do my best to answer.
TheGoodBiGirl, I bought the mosaic mirrors at a local chain craft store (Michael's). They were sold in 25 packs for $1.99 each. I did a quick search online as well, an saw that the online prices were comparable.
Lilli K, all of the other materials, with the exception of the skewers, were purchased at Michael's as well. The skewers I had at home but got those at my local supermarket.
asdf3001, I purchased the pillow cases and duvet at Crate & Barrel a few years ago. I believe they are still online.
lcsf8, the paint is called "Twilight Sky" and it's from Valspar (Martha Stewart line)
Thanks again for the thumbs up, comments and inquiries!
Nice work! I've been kicking around the idea of designing one of these for a while, and now you've done all the experimenting for us! Now I really have no excuse for not making one.
Two thumbs up from me! (Okay so it'll only let me do one.) :D
Alison,
I'd love to see more pictures of this project? Any flicker or blog links?
It looks great! Really polished... its appearance belies the simple ingredients. Great idea.
Two thumbs up! Love the use of silver leaf.
Nice job!
Um..Target has this mirror right now on sale for $29. I love DIY but I'd rather just pay the extra $4 for it to be done already.
great diy! thanks for posting =)
I saw this and ran out and bought the supplies today! But, I have a tip...I got my center mirror at Walmart for $1.46 in the auto department and it's the same size as the one above!
It isn't on sale on Target's website and I haven't seen it in stores. I like the idea.
Allison, it's beautiful! Thanks for sharing...
Wow that's beautiful! I'm going to go get my glue gun ready!
i saw a similar mirror at West Elm a few years back and thought "i can do that" - and so i did! if you don't have the patience for silver leafing, i suggest getting a silver metallic spray paint for the dowels (however the silver leafing will give it nice dimension and make it more realistic). also, depending on how you want yours to be, you can get larger mirrors at ikea (for the center - large mirrors not recommended for the "branches" as the dowels aren't that strong to hold them up!) all the rest of the mirrors can be purchased at Michael's for minimal cost. a suggestion to give give it more depth is variate the length of dowels rather than keeping them all one length. and yes, they may have it on sale at Target but making your own just gives you so much more satisfaction!
asdf3001, here's a link to the duvet and pillows if you haven't found them yet... http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=1615&f=12196
Sideproject- sorry for the delay. I just put some additional pics up on flickr.
Thanks again for the thumbs up and comments!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35579351@N03/
See, someone faulted this for the 'arms' not being staggered in length, but that's actually what makes me like this one a lot more then the original starburst mirrors! I love how the symmetry of the radiant arms complements the random placement of the tiny mirrors.
This isn't my style per se, but I like it so much that I'm going to have to work one into my house somehow... maybe when I re-do my son's room in a space theme...
O!M!G! I was seriously considering paying $300 on ebay for a vintage starburst mirror. Thank you for this tip, I will definitely be making one (in gold though, instead of silver) Briliiant!!!
I used this tutorial to make a starburst mirror. Now I can't figure out what to use to mount it on the wall? What was used?
ok ... I think I'm doing something wrong ... I'm new to silver leafing ... I think a flat surface would probably of been a better 1st try with this material, but I just love the way your final product looks!!! This is taking me many more than 4 hours, though ... it is so hard to wrap around the dowels ... But it is looking good! Thanks for the idea
So, how do you actually attached the skewers to the back of the center mirror? I haven't yet purchased my supplies and want to be sure I've everything I need to get it done. I'm concerned the glue gun approach may not be strong enough. Is this a legitimate concern? Also, how far into the center of the larger mirror should the skewer ends go?
bemyescape, sorry my response took so long, I didn't see it until today. Anyway, I just hot-glued one of those saw-tooth picture frame hangers to the back.
Connellt, I attached the skewers with just hot glue. My mirror has been hanging for about a year with no issues at all. The dowels went just about as far as they could go into the center of the mirror. In the space around it. The dowels had to go a little further out because of spacing, but they were still far enough in to be secure.
Hope this helps!
This is really cool! I made a starburst mirror with a completely different vibe. I like how versatile these mirrors can be. Here is a link to my creation. http://moxandfodder.com/2011/06/27/starburst-mirror-diy/