Saturday, April 28, 2012

Faux Decorative Mirrors

I thought this up shortly after making my faux monogram bar mirror. My husband thinks I'm crazy because I love using this Looking Glass mirror paint so much.



 (Ignore the reflection of me. I'm still learning how to photograph my projects.)

This project cost me $7.50: The cost of the frames at the local dollar store. I already had the spray paint and the scrapbook paper on hand.

Here's a photo play-by-play.








Friday, April 27, 2012

Washer Bracelet

I realized today that I have less than 3 weeks to get a package prepared for a Step-Mothers' Day swap so I went into crafting mode. I wanted to make something fun and unique for my swap partner so I decided to make her an easy and funky bracelet.

I saw this idea all over Pinterest but I found the best directions in this post on The Evolution of Home.

So, here are a couple of photos of my results. Sorry, no pictures of the process. I was too lazy to take them.








I certainly hope my swap partner enjoys this little creative endeavor.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Monogram Bar Mirror

With Mother's Day coming up and some recent uproar in my family, I decided I needed to something really spectacular for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. I've been experimenting with faux mercury glass lately, thanks to a Pin from Take the Side Street on Pinterest. Her technique is very easy and works very well.

Instead of snatching someone else's idea from Pinterest, I struck out on my own and came up with this lovely little piece:


The whole thing was very inexpensive and very easy. The whole project cost me less than $20 because I already had the spraypaint on hand and Hobby Lobby had one of their spectacular sales.

Here's what you need:

  • Picture frame.
  • Enamel paint in your choice of color and paint brushes.
  • Letter stencils. 
  • A sheet of scrapbooking paper. 
  • Krylon's Looking Glass spray. 
  • Spray bottle with 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar.
  • Paper towels. 


Instead of stenciling a letter on the glass, I chose to trace a letter I printed from my computer and then painted it on the reverse of the glass.












Here's what it looked like after I painted on the reverse of the glass. I then baked the glass in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. I wasn't sure what would happen to the paint if I didn't bake it on the glass and I started the faux mercury glass technique.




Once the glass cooled off and I was sure that the wind was low enough, I went outside and spraypainted the glass with the Looking Glass spray.






And after applying the 50/50 mixture and distressing the glass:




I let the paint dry and then put the picture frame back together with the scrapbook paper behind the glass.


I can't wait to send this next month to my mother-in-law. She's going to love it and I love it so much, I'm thinking about making this for our house, too.