Step by Step Trumeau Mirror

As promised, here is the step by step for the diy Trumeau style mirror, transformed with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint® and Efex furniture appliqués......Read More

DIY Kitchen Pendants

When I decided I wanted pendant lights over my kitchen island, I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of money, so I looked into DIY options.  Here is what I found at my local Lowes........ Read More

Advice Needed

source: Overstock.com

Just like everyone else, I am always looking for attractive storage solutions. Over Christmas break, I cleaned out and ....... Read More

Sunbursts, Large and Small

I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I find myself getting heavy handed with gold paint......................  Read More

And if you are wanting to paint something Gold, or even just add some sparkle to your home, check out my posts  ,DIY Gilt Mirror ,  Faux Mercury Glass Sconce,   Easy Picture Frame Upgrade,  and   Sparkle Your Holiday Decor.

Diy Efex Gilt Mirror

I don’t have a picture of this mirror “before”, but believe me it was very ordinary. Just your basic 24″ x 36″ dark brown wall mirror. I had been working on my Efex Christmas tree ornaments when I decided it was due for an upgrade.

Using my favorite Rustoleum spray paint, I gave the frame a quick coat of gold. I also sprayed  2 pieces of Efex, (T31), those wonderful flexible furniture appliqués .

They were too wide to attach as a strip on the frame, so I cut the strips apart and placed them in pairs symmetrically around the edge. Once I had a pattern I liked I used contact cement to adhere them.

A quick footnote..I like to paint my pieces before gluing. I think the coverage is better and usually touch ups are minimal and can be done with a Krylon Gold Leaf Pen.

  

I love the way this turned out. A quick, easy and inexpensive upgrade to a most ordinary mirror.

For more Efex projects, see my posts, Sparkle Your holiday Decor,  Chinoiserie Cabinet,   Easy Picture Frame Upgrade.  And to find an Efex dealer so you can make your own upgrade to that dull boring, mirror, just click here

DIY Efex Holiday Ornaments

 

 

One of my favorite activities of the holidays is making Christmas tree ornaments.  When my children were small it started with construction paper chains, (which I still have), to painting holiday wood shapes, stringing beads, and painting glass ornaments. Although I am more or less on my own these days making ornaments, I still like to create something new for our tree.

Efex™ reached out to me this year and I loved the idea of turning their furniture appliqués into ornaments. Here's  how I did it.

 

Choosing several of their designs, I used my favorite gold spray paint, Rustoleum Bright Coat Metallic Finish.   After they were dry,  I pulled out my Krylon Silver metallic pen and painted accents. Of course you could use other holiday paints and colors, but I love the sparkle of gold and silver on a tree. One of the best things about the Efex™ ornaments is that they are unbreakable. (I don't even want to count the number of glass balls I've lost over the years). And although I don't have little ones running around the tree anymore, I do have my sweet, always excited, golden retriever, Mollie, to keep in mind when trimming the tree.

I used ornament hooks but you could also use string or decorative ribbon attached with Contact Cement.  A  fun, fast, easy and safe, holiday craft for your family. Decorate your tree and enjoy!

Colorways and Efex are partnering for a Holiday Giveaway. Sign up here  to win your  Efex Appliques and  create your own ornaments.

Holiday ornaments can take up a lot of storage space. I store mine in this beautiful cabinet. For more storage ideas see my posts, Colorful Storage,  Flea Market Find,  and   Take One Stepback

DIY Sunburst Mirror Follow-up

I have been getting several questions about the DIY Sunburst Mirror post from earlier this week so I decided to do a quick follow up.

This image above is a basic step by step to make a sunburst mirror like the one I made at the bottom of the picture.  Here are some of the things I learned in the process. Using wooden shims as the basic structure allows you to make a mirror that is as large as you want. Shims come in two sizes, at least at Home Depot, and I used the smaller ones.  I was able to create a mirror that was almost 36" in diameter.  However it is very heavy. I used wood glue to form the bundles of 6-10 shims. But to fully hold it together I had to use a hot glue gun. I tried several types of adhesive but the glue gun was the only one that made it a solid structure.

The shims are rather rough and unfinished. They must be primed or sealed or you will go through several cans of spray paint. I can't imagine trying to paint this with a brush. On the second one I made I used gold leaf over the gold spray paint and the result was a more textured surface with aged gold patina.

I spent some time studying different styles of sunburst mirrors before making this one. Most of the ones I was drawn to had two or more smaller layers mounted on top of each other and a definite border framing the mirror.

This can be done by securing a smaller sunburst mirror, a round mirror, a round picture frame, or as I did here, a sunburst clock frame. For some reason sunburst clocks don't seem to be as popular as their mirror counterparts and are usually much less expensive.  They can be found on Ebay, in thrift stores, and at flea markets. Remove the clock and install a round or convex mirror of the same diameter.

A small round photo frame can also be used to secure the convex mirror to a larger base. Convex mirrors are available in several sizes and it is easier to find a mirror that fits the opening of the frame than the other way around.

These are just few ways to create your own or modify an existing, but less than perfect sunburst mirror.  Tomorrow, I'll return to colors and painting.

DIY Sunburst Mirror

On some days I like to take a break from painting furniture and do different projects. I love sunburst mirrors and have been able to collect a few small vintage ones . But I have never found a large one that I liked that wasn't outrageously priced.  After a little research on the Internet I discovered several tutorials that explained different ways to make a sunburst mirror. The one pictured above is the first one I made (I have made several since) and it is my favorite, probably because it is less than perfect. If you look closely you can see the largest layer which is made by gluing shims (Home Depot) together, starts to spiral out  a bit at the bottom from the circle.

If you decide to make one of your own, google "DIY Sunburst/Starburst mirror" to find instructions. Mine is actually a variation and I will share a few tips. Auto parts stores have the best prices on convex mirrors and offer many sizes, from 2" to 36" in diameter. I used an 8" mirror which I put in a circular picture frame and mounted on a vintage (1960's), 24" diameter Syrocco clock. This was glued to the almost perfect 36 " circle of shims. The Syrocco clock was already a gold metallic, but I used Rustoleum Gold Metallic spray paint for everything else. In the end, I think the layering of the different components gives it a far more interesting and finished look, even with a proportionately smaller mirror.