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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Wood Shim Sunburst Mirror


Happy Sunday guys.  Did you think I was ever going to post anything other than Tasty Tuesdays?  I wasn't so sure.  New job = very little time for blogging & blog reading...it's definitely taking some getting used to!

I made a wood shim sunburst mirror for my mom for Christmas.  I may be the last person in blogland to make a sunburst mirror, but I'm definitely a big fan of the sunburst.  I have a one hanging over my bed that I bought when I moved six years ago.  I remember it was one of the first accessories I bought.  Also, I recently was going through my portfolio from college, and in my very first studio class I used a sunburst mirror!  I was 18 years old and it was 1995.  We had to chose a quote for the project and design a room around it.  The quote I chose was "Keep your face to the sunshine and you can not see the shadows" from Helen Keller.  Hence - the sunburst mirror!  Anyway, my point is - I don't think sunburst mirrors are a trend - I think they are here to stay!

I pinned a sunburst mirror from Shelley of Crazy Wonderful a while ago and kept looking at it knowing I wanted to use her project as inspiration.  There are a lot of DIY sunburst mirrors out there, but in my opinion, Shelley's is definitely the best!  Her project and idea was the start and inspiration for mine.  Check out Shelly's mirror right here


I started with 8 packages of 15" long shims and a few bottles of Gorilla Glue.  I ended up only needing 6-1/2 packages of shims.


I glued the shims together in groups of 5 and 7.


Then I started laying out the pieces to determine the pattern and placement.


After laying them out, I realized that the pattern the shims were creating was going to be too big.  Talk about frustrated!  I ended up having to saw off a couple of inches from each grouping.  Ugh.  But, it went quicker than I thought - but my arm was a little sore!

Here's what I came up with:


Next, each piece was primed with Zinsser.



And then, each piece was painted with Valspar's Metal & Patina Glaze in Bronze.  I never even knew this stuff existed until I read about it in Shelley's post


Each piece got two coats of the glaze.

Then I cut a piece of plywood to be just about the same size as the mirror I bought.  I can't remember, but I think the diameter of the mirror is 18".  I drew two center lines on the plywood to help with the laying out the shim pieces.


Next up, gluing - this part took lots and lots of Gorilla Glue.


No pictures, but after all the pieces were down and glued, I put another board on top and then a few bricks and let it dry overnight.  The next day I used more wood glue to attach the mirror.  The mirror I bought was white, so I primed and painted it as well before I glued it down. 

Here is the finished product.  I'm really happy with how it turned out and more importantly, my mom loves it!









Have a great week!

I've linked this project up to Remodelaholic Friday
The DIY Show Off

25 comments:

  1. Nice job! My husband is into woodworking and he is also hovering over this post right now. Really nice work!

    www.thegirlieblog.com

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  2. Oh I love it too. What a fantastic job. Hugs, Marty

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  3. Great job! It's so pretty! I'm sure that one took a little bit of patience :)

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  4. That's really beautiful! I love it. The color is perfect. Great job!

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  5. I hear you about being busy!

    Love the mirror. I saw that DIY when you pinned it, and think it would make a great rainy day project when I have nothing to do- ha! as if that will ever happen!

    You did do a beautiful job - impressive!

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  6. Your mirror is gorgeous, Alissa! I love it!

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  7. amazing! if by some unlikely chance i develop the patience to do a project like this, how did you hang the mirror? is there a hook on the plywood piece?

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  8. Wow! Amazing job! I don't know if I would ever have the patience for a project like that...but it is gorgeous! Angie xo

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  9. It's beautiful, great job!

    Hugs from Portugal

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  10. Beautiful job and great tutorial...I would love to make one for myself since I gave my store bought one to my daughter and she won't give it back!

    Judy

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  11. It looks really beautiful - hard to believe it was a diy!

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  12. It turned out AMAZING Alissa!!! I saw your post's picture when I was going through my blog readings and was like, "I wish I would have spaced mine out like that! It's gorgeous!". My husband was laughing at me when I started bouncing around on the couch like a two year old while I was reading your post :D For what it's worth, I like yours better!

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  13. Oh my, that is spectacular!! I might have to try it for my next place!

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  14. Gorgeous!! what an amazing job you did! That is so beautiful.

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  15. What a great idea! The mirror is beautiful! You are so creative thanks for sharing such a wonderful DIY!

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  16. Wow! What a great project! I loved catching up on your year of recipes. So many I'd love to try. Have a great week!

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  17. That is absolutely gorgeous! Great job!

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  18. Lovely and you have so much patience. It looks so good I am not surprised your Mom loved it!

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  19. Just spectacular! You are not the last person to make one of these. I am :)

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  20. Beautiful~ I love it, I might just have to make one now.

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