Let me just start out by saying that this project required a bit of trial and error - it didn't end up exactly how I imagined it. However, thats the beauty of this project, it doesn't have to be perfect and if you aren't thrilled with the way it turns out you can easily undo it and go back to the original. This will be fun for someone who is willing to experiment a little and spice up a plain mirror. Here's what you'll need: a frameless mirror (I found this one at Goodwill - if you don't have a thrift store near you try Ikea or a garage sale!), ModPodge - any finish will do but I used Glossy, a sponge brush (about 25 cents at a craft store like Michael's), painters tape, small bottle of white acrylic paint, and 2 or 3 jars of glitter in various shades (light to darker) of any color you like. If possible, do this outside. If that's not an option, cover the floor around your workspace with newspaper.
Start by taping the edges of your mirror with painters tape. This will help create a clean edge where the glitter meets the mirror and also makes it easy to remove the glitter if you decide you want a plain mirror down the line.
Next, paint over the blue tape using the white acrylic paint. This will make the glitter "pop" and stay more true to color. I messed this step up a bit because I brought the white paint beyond the tape, which made the glitter edge much thicker than I wanted. So I recommend keeping the paint only on the thin line of blue tape. Sometimes when it comes to glitter.... less is more.
Now its time to start adding glitter! I messed this part up a bit too haha, like I said this was a trial and error situation! At least I learned from it so now I can give better advice. So where I went wrong was the order I applied the glitter, starting with the lightest color on the inner edge and working towards darker on the outer edge. INSTEAD what I should have done was the OPPOSITE: start with the darker shade on the outer edge then work your way to the medium and light shades on the inside. When you go from DARK TO LIGHT the ombre effect will be very nice and gradual. However, since I went from light to dark, there were some areas that didn't blend as well. So please keep this in mind when looking at the pictures - instead of starting with light on the inner edge, start with dark on the outer edge and work your way lighter as you get closer to the inner edge. Hope that makes sense!
Apply a thin layer of ModPodge to the OUTER half of the white paint, then start adding your darker shade of glitter. After you have done this on all four edges allow it to dry for a bit (this doesn't take long). Then apply another thin layer of ModPodge on the middle third of the white paint, making sure it slightly overlaps the darker glitter you already applied. Then apply the medium toned shade and allow to dry. Finally, apply another thin layer of ModPodge to the inner portion of the white paint, slightly overlapping with the medium shade of glitter but not covering it totally. Then apply the lightest shade to the inner edge. After this has dried, apply one final coat of ModPodge over the entire glitter section to seal it and you're done! I know this isn't the best tutorial since I made a few mistakes along the way but I hope some of you still like it and get inspired to experiment with your own version. Thanks for checking this out and please let me know if you give it a try!
 |
| Finished Product |
 |
| The Aftermath... |
 |
| Glitter Vengeance. |
No comments:
Post a Comment