I created a vintage mirror dry erase memo board
to share with you this month for the new challenge at
Read on to see how I achieved this look -
and a surprising item I repurposed !
First things first, the key ingredient to creating this look:
Krylon Looking Glass spray paint.
It is costly, it is a different type of paint to work with,
it is extremely smelly so work outdoors only
and as in my case, it is nowhere to be found locally.
I bought this can a couple of years ago to create
a faux mercury glass vase with.
There was enough paint leftover to create this
antique mirror. Yes, just enough paint in the can
to create two projects. It goes on in very thin coats so
it requires quite a bit of paint to cover a project.
NOTE: this is not meant to create a true solid, smooth
mirror / chrome look project ! Also, you paint on the back side of
your project. It is not water or food safe
so you want to make projects that will remain dry
and will not be used for food.
My project started with an old 12 x 16 frame that had seen better days.
It's been in my picture frame stash for several years.
Having worked as a framer oh so long ago, I kind of have
an addiction to frames, mats and the like ;)
Take the glass out of the frame and thoroughly clean it.
I used a glass cleaning product followed by a final
wipe down with vinegar, buffed dry with a lint free cloth.
The side you are working on will be the back of the mirror
once your project is complete, it is not going to look shiny.
I lightly sprayed the paint across the glass several times.
It did not fully cover the glass. I wanted just a light coat first.
I then lightly sponged black glossy acrylic craft paint with a
sea sponge (this is something I use for faux painting walls)
in small areas of the glass. Not all over it, just random places.
You want to use a sea sponge, not a regular kitchen type sponge,
so you can get random splotches of paint.
The next step is to spritz the mirror with a mixture of
50% vinegar and 50% water. This technique too is a matter of
taste, what you wish to achieve. I did a light mist then carefully dabbed
at it with a damp rag to remove some of the looking glass paint.
Once again, in random areas of the glass, not all over it.
I also added a heavier mist to create a bit bigger "puddles"
then sprayed the Looking Glass paint over it, hoping to create
"rings" around the water drops as they dried. It did work on a couple
of larger drops I sprayed. NOTE: keep the glass laying flat
as you are working on it, unless you want to have runs in the paint.
The vinegar/water solution "eats" away the paint and will
make a drippy, runny mess if you move it around.
The above photo shows vinegar water droplets.
You may also be able to see the black splotches from the
glossy acrylic craft paint I applied with a sea sponge.
The below photo shows the silver after it has been dabbed away
in places with a damp rag.
I then spray on more layers of the silver paint.
A couple more spritzes of the vinegar water solution
then dabbed with the damp rag to remove some paint
in a couple of places and I left it alone to dry.
It didn't take long since I was working outdoors
on a very hot Midwestern summer day.
I decided to spray the back with a clear
spray paint to seal the fragile faux antique mirror
paint layers. I was afraid I'd scratch through the layers
(they are so thin!) as I was assembling my project.
A piece of mat board is also on the back of the mirror glass
to help protect it inside the frame.
The antique mirror is now done,
time to decorate the old frame a bit.
I had lots of ideas, Some would have been really cute, too:
repaint it a fun bubblegum pink color (spray paint I already had)
and add black/white polka dot ribbon, flowers, etc.
Crackle paint it, chalk paint it,
dry brush on metallic paints, etc , etc, etc !
I ended up using it pretty much as is.
Ribbon, lace, paint, glue on glitter, etc -
what to do with the icky old canvas insert?
I decided to make it more time consuming on myself:
I made a faux embossed tin trim !
I measured the width of the channel then trimmed
some metallic card stock to fit. Luckily I had a
large piece, 17" in length which was just perfect.
Because the strips needed to be 17" long,
I had to used a straight edge and Xacto knife to cut them
to the correct width.
to the correct width.
The only embossing folder I had that I felt was suitable ;)
I had to keep running the card stock strip through the
same portion of the design, lining it up with the previously
embossed section.
Once I had all of the pieces embossed, I dry brushed on
black acrylic craft paint
I then laid them out in the channels and carefully trimmed
the inside corner angles to fit.
Heavy duty double stick tape was applied to the back
of the strips. They were then adhered into place.
That surprising thing I repurposed on this project ?
The bottom half of a travel toothbrush holder
to hold the dry erase marker!
I spray painted it black then brushed on light gray
craft paint along the top edge,
layering silver metallic over that once dry.
I wrapped a piece of black grosgrain ribbon around it,
attached it to the back of the frame.
It wouldn't stay up in place so I glued
a scrap of heavy chipboard on top of the ribbon.
Works like a charm (for the time being at least !).
Finished frame attached to the side of a metal
filing cabinet using 3M Command picture hanging strips.
(I edited the photo to add ribbon and flower)
This is a pretty basic, almost masculine looking memo board.
You could certainly decorate it in so many ways,
make it more girly, match your decor, etc by adding flowers and such.
By the way, YES, dry erase markers wipe off of glass easily
(I use a Quill brand chisel point marker) !
Thanks for looking !
I'm entering my project in the following two challenges:
