I listed my Cosy Garden Cottage on Airbnb two and a half years ago. Making my own decor items is a much cheaper way to decorate and make it cosy. I also have such fun ringing the changes. My latest project was making my own sunburst mirror.
Sunburst mirrors have been popping in and out of decor ideas for years. I thought they were something from the seventies. When I decided to write this post I was curious so I did some research and I found that they have been around for a lot longer than the seventies! What I discovered is that they originate from the seventeenth century during the Middle Ages! With roots fromĀ Versailles, it explains why I like them – I just love French Decor.
Anyway, the purpose of my post is not to give you a history lesson but rather to show you just how easy it is to make your own DIY Sunburst mirror.
You will need
To put this mirror together I used the following items:
- 30 cm diameter round mirror
- 30 cm diameter round canvas
- Wooden coffee stirrers, my bag has 1000 pieces which I think is enough for two mirrors
- Wood glue (Cold Glue)
- Quick Drying Lacquer Spray
- Ruler
It was pure chance that I managed to find a mirror and a canvas exactly the same size. I don’t think it will be too much of a problem if your mirror is slightly larger than the canvas if you can’t find them the same size. Any spray on spray will do, I just happened to have a can of the Quick Drying Lacquer in my garage.
Putting the Sunburst Mirror together
Putting the mirror together really was easy work. The difficult part was having the patience to allow the glue to dry properly between each layer of coffee stirrers.
Here is how I did it:
Draw an inner circle on your canvas
Draw an inner circle on your canvas to mark how far in you want to glue your coffee stirrer sticks. This will help to keep them evenly placed around the mirror. I drew my inner circle about an inch from the edge of the canvas.
Glue the first layer of coffee stirrers to the canvas
Use the wood glue to glue the coffee stirrers around the edge of the canvas. As you glue the coffee stirrers you will find that you will need a weight of some sort to hold the stirrers down initially. I used a ruler and then put something on top of the ruler to distribute the weight evenly. I moved this around the canvas as I worked.
Once one round of coffee stirrers is complete, wait a couple of hours for the glue to dry properly before you start on the next round. I waited over night. I also turned the canvas upside down and put another weight on it to help with the drying.
Glue the second layer of coffee stirrers to the canvas
When the first layer of coffee stirrers is dry, begin with the second layer following the same process. I found the second layer a little easier because the first layer of coffee stirrers now added a bit of support for the second layer. You can carry on adding as many layers as you have coffee stirrers for. I stopped at two layers.
Allow the second layer of coffee stirrers to dry for a couple of hours or overnight as you did for the first layer.
Spray paint the canvas and coffee stirrers
With two complete layers of coffee stirrers glued to your canvas, you are now ready to spray paint your coffee stirred canvas. For the spray painting don’t go too close to the canvas. Keeping a small distance away will help to get an even distribution of paint and avoid spots. I found that it took me a while to get the distribution I wanted. Allow the paint to dry for another couple of hours or over night.
Position the mirror in the middle of the canvas and coffee stirrers
Now that the paint is dry the mirror is ready to be placed in the center of the sunburst canvas. I applied a generous amount of glue to the back of the mirror before placing it in the middle of the sunburst canvas.
Placing the mirror in the middle took a bit of patience as I wanted to make sure it was exactly right. When I was happy with the positing I got a heavy weight to place on the mirrorĀ and allowed it to dry overnight. The weight helps to get an even distribution across the mirror.
Now you have a completed sunburst mirror to add to your decor.
Completed Sunburst Mirror
I was so excited to hang this beauty up! It is amazing how one mirror has filled a hole in our sitting room. I had planned to hang it in our Cosy Garden Cottage but loved it too much to part with it. I will have to make another one for the cottage.
This was a really easy project to get done. What took time and patience was the waiting for the glue and paint to dry. I used coffee stirrers in my project but you could use anything really, kebab or sosatie sticks would also work really well. Keeping the sticks an even distance is also not mandatory. I have seen mirrors with rays of different lengths which also look beautiful. Your imagination is your limit.