Hey Friends,
I have a fun new project this weekend.
I went to goodwill a few weeks ago and bought a pretty frame and a mirror.
I didn’t like the gold and decided to paint them both white, no surprise there, lol. My intentions were to take the mirror out of the small frame and paint it but when I tried to take it out it was glued in and I was afraid that I was going to break it if I tried taking it out. So I left it in.
You know when you have a plan and that plan doesn’t work out? Well, I came up with a whole new plan, lol!
I decided to take a thin piece of board (can’t remember what they call it) that I had leftover from another project and cut it to the size of the big frame. I painted both frames white.
Funny story about painting the frames. I decided to use Rust-oleum spray chalk paint in linen white. I set up my table outside to paint and started with the big frame. I had so many problems with the spray can. It was a full can but it would not come out very well and most times it wouldn’t come out at all. I managed to get a coat and a half onto the frame and then had to throw it out because it wouldn’t spray anymore. I hate to spend money ($8) on something you have to throw away.
Onto the mirror. I have about a 1/4 of a can of chalk paint left in the other can. After taping the mirror off, I get the whole mirror painted and it has great coverage, yay! Both frame and mirror are done and dried so I take them to my craft room. You know what?? Lol, the frames were different colors!! Can you believe?! One was cream and one was white! I ended up going to Walmart the next day and they had the linen white. I picked up two cans just in case. The reason one was cream is because I threw out the lid on the can and didn’t read the label. Live and learn. Story of my life lol.
I think it was the next day that I decided to tackle the project again. You know those gadgets that you put on the spray can to make spray painting easier?
I had one and went to put it on and it slipped out of my hand and the can fell onto the cement flooring outside and busted the tiny little insert. I tried to get the paint to come out but it just bubbled out and went everywhere. A whole can wasted, again, but at least Walmarts prices were cheaper lol. So now you know the whole story lol!
Ok, now that I have both frames painted all the same color, lol, it was time to put it all together. I can’t find a picture of the finished big frame. Guess I was discouraged by the different color I didn’t get a finished picture.
I painted the thin board in the same color as the frames. I didn’t have to paint the whole board, just the middle where the frames didn’t meet.
Let that dry. Before gluing the frames to the backing board, take any hanging hardware off the backs. Take gorilla glue and put it onto the back of the big frame and square it up to the edge of the board. Clamp it down and let it dry overnight. The next day I did the same thing with the mirror and let it dry overnight also. If you have enough clamps you could do this all at once.
Now there is a bigger space at the top and bottom than on the sides and I decided it needed some moldings. I used paper clay for this and an IOD mold I had on hand.
You want to roll the paper clay between your hands to warm it up and soften it. When applying it to the mold, add cornstarch first, then the paper clay. Use something flat like a credit card or putty knife and run it across the top to remove the excess. Then you will take the mold and turn it upside down and bend the mold back to release the clay. Usually, it works great but because mine was so tiny and detailed it was a little harder to do. I found using a small end of a utility knife worked well to get it out. It did come out in pieces and it looks a little rugged but in the end, I liked it.
I let the clay dry overnight before I glued it down. If you glue it down while it is wet, it will crack. I don’t mind the cracking but I didn’t want that look on this project.
Once the clay was dried and glued down I painted it! After that was done I added D rings to the back (which came off the mirror) and now it is ready to hang.
What do you think?
******UPDATE******
I decided to add a few transfers to my mirror. Check it out below.
I love it!! Now I need to find a place for it.
I am running out of places to hang things. Ever have that problem, lol!
Until next week, I hope your weekend is exceptional!
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Denise says
awesome. Ty.
Cheryl says
Thank you for stopping by.
Absolutely breathtaking
Thank you so much Cathy!