You know that feeling when you’re at a garage sale, and you’re about to leave empty-handed, but then the people hosting the sale yell out, “I’ll let you have it for $1!” - that feeling? For me, this came on a day that I was admiring a large, albeit slightly water-damaged, mirror. Stacy will tell you, I’m always drawn to mirrors at garage sales. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re shiny or because I’m vain, but I just like them.
This means, of course, I’ve already purchased plenty of garage sale-chic mirrors for my apartment (just taking a quick visual inventory, I see two in this room alone). But $1? C’mon.
So I’m sitting at home, contemplating whether to paint or frame it when it hits me - break that sucka and make a mosaic mirror. Game on.
The supplies:
Mirror
Piece of wood in the size & shape you want
Paint (Go to Lowe’s/Home Depot and pick whatever your heart desires - then get a sample of it. They’re only like $3 and it’s more than enough paint!)
Paint brush and paint bowl/container
Safety goggles and leather gloves (Seriously - this is effing glass. Don’t mess around.)
Hammer
2-3 old/scrap towels
Saran wrap
Tape
Liquid Nails glue (Gorilla glue or whatever)
“I hit with hammer NOW?” Wait! Let’s get the base ready first. Take your piece of wood and get to painting. Here’s mine after a few coats of paint.
Make sure it’s good and dry before even starting on the mirror part.
I did some research and there are TONS of ways to crack a mirror. You may choose to opt for the duct tape method, the glass cutter method or something else, but I opted for a much more sophisticated method, only for the more advanced crafters: saran wrap and scotch tape. Put the saran wrap over the front part of the mirror and then tape to the back. I did just one layer, but I think it would have been better to use two. It should look like this.
Alright, once the mirror is ready, lay it glass-side down on one of those towels. Place the other towel(s) over the back of the mirror, and get your safety goggles, gloves and hammer - it’s go time.
Once you’ve suited up, the next step is to hit it with a hammer. Plain and simple. Just take a breath and hit it (I’m giving you a pep talk because I needed one myself before I had the gall to actually hit the mirror). Check the mirror in between hits to see what kind of breaks you’re getting. I’d recommend starting with a soft swing, just to gauge it, and then getting progressively harder as needed. Then break it to your preferred… break-itude.
Excellent work. Bleeding yet? Hopefully not. Now start to gather the “best” pieces. This part is totally subjective, so just whichever ones you like. As you collect your faves, put them in a safe place where they won’t cut anyone.
I know, I know. I can hear you all now. “What the - there are pieces of broken glass all over that girl’s living room and it’s going to take forever to arrange all those pieces so they look good!” (Both fair points, by the way.) But not to worry! That’s why we used the towels, and as for the arranging - it doesn’t take that long. In less than 30 minutes, I had turned that pile of glass into this.
Hold your applause, we’re not done yet. Now it’s time to get the glue out. And if you’re like me, grab something cold and refreshing as well - we’re gonna be here a little while.
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