Decor, DIY and my Dog
Here is something a little different for your front door for Fall, Thanksgiving or even Halloween! A pumpkin wreath made from a dollar tree pumpkin wreath form, well technically thats TWO pumpkin wreath forms!! [Read more…]
Another version of the Look for Less challenge, and this one is just in time for Halloween! The perfect Halloween skull wreath. It’s easy, spooky, pretty and cheap, since the whole thing is made with Dollar Tree supplies. And you still have time to make one! And you can make one in under an hour! [Read more…]
Hi, hi, hi!!! By now you must be familiar with the look for less challenge that I participate in every month. I really love this challenge. We are tasked with finding a high end decor piece and DIYing it for less! This month’s project was a DIY mirrored candle holder!
Recently I saw these mirrored candle holders from Wayfair. They are Orren Ellis design and they are so fabulous! I bet you didn’t think you could make mirrored finish candle sticks did you? YES YOU CAN! I am about to show you how
Click here for the Youtube version of this project.
(6″x9″)
(optional)
I often overthink things. Not this time:) For the structural base of the candle holders, I just used scrap wood that I had in my garage. For the main portion a piece of 2″x4″ that was cut to 9″ long. And for the base a piece of 1″x6″ cut to 3″x5″ in size. Easy peasy huh?
I tested out more than one way of applying the paint finishes. So, here is what I deem to be the BEST way. Paint the entire piece in white spray primer to seal the raw wood. Then after it dries, tape off a rectangular section on either side, and spray with silver metallic spray paint. When the tape is removed the front sections remain white and the edges are silver. The purpose of this is just in case any small spots can be seen through the mirror, sheet this way you wold see silver instead of raw wood.
On the inspiration piece the light section is mother of pearl. I didn’t happen to have any kicking around, so I instead decided to do a faux finish. I had a large tube of mother of pearl structure gel, which I bought a while back at Walmart. You could just used a white structure gel and then mother of pearl paint. I did small brush stroked using a small artists brush . The brush stroked imitate the tiled finish of the mother of pearl pieces. I alternated between white pearl paint and mother of pearl structure gel. I used a small flat ended brush and did small short strokes. It gave me a very irridescent textured finish.
I recently discovered this Mirror Sheet on Amazon and I’m in love!!!! This really has opened the door for me to so many projects that I have wanted to do, but I just didn’t like the way fake mirror paper looked. This mirror sheet is very thick and doesn’t bend or crease. The package that I bought included 4 6″x9″ sized sheets. They have a super sticky adhesive backing and stick really well, but need a clean flat surface to adhere to. The mirror side is the best mirror finish I have seen. It has a plastic coating, which I suggest leaving on until your project is complete, to protect the finish.
You can cut the mirror sheet with scissors, but it’s difficult to get a straight line. So here are 2 ways to get a nice straight cut
Use a straight edge and an Xacto knife to make a deep straight line in the acrylic sheet. This will give you a nice straight line to cut along with your scissors. It is quite thick, and I was not able to cut through with the Xacto knife. So, I came up with a second option.
I wondered if this would cut better with a paper cutter, so the next time I was at Walmart I picked up this cutter, which technically calls itself a trimmer. It worked really well, and I anticipate I will be using it for a lot of other projects in the future. You can pick one up one Amazon if you also have a use for it. With the cutter, I aligned my sheet with the edge which gave me approx .75″ wide piece that I was using for the edges. Then I used the holder to keep the sheet in place. With this cutter you push down on the slide and it will cut all the way through the mirror sheet, if you are pushing hard enough. This is definitely my preferred method for cutting this medium. I love this little cutter, I’m already using it on other projects.
MeasurementsFor the front, I cut 4 pieces at 9″ long x 3/4″ wide. 2 of these went on the long outside edges (as below). One is cut to length for the top and bottom outside edges , fitting it between the long edge pieces (see below). and one will be cut to size, and used as the middle section (not in photo). Note that blue pen marks are on top of the protective film and will just peel off with the film.
It’s up to you it you want to do both sides the same, or if you want to make it a bit less work with cutting and fitting, just do one side with the pattern, and do the other with a solid piece of mirror sheet. Totally up to you! I did both sides using the pattern, but I think if I did it again, I would probably only do one side, since you generally only see the front side of the candle holders.
The mirror sheet is easy to apply. Just peel the backing and stick it down. It sticks better to a flat surface. It sticks pretty well, so make any adjustments before sticking it down with pressure.
Repeat the process for the bottom section of the candle holder. The bottom piece will all be painted silver. Measure and apply mirrored finish to all but the bottom of the piece (not necessary). Then attach the finished candle holder to the base. Remember to remove the plastic coating prior to adhering. Connect the pieces using E6000 and let dry overnight. Be sure to wipe away on glue that may leak out the edge. To avoid this, just apply your E6000 to the centre of the piece, since it will squish out if too much glue is used.
I hunted high and low to try and find a similarly shaped piece for the top. The closest I could find was this crystal tea light holder from Michael’s. Later, I found this one on Amazon which is even prettier than the ones I bought at Michaels, and cheaper too! The tea light holder fit perfectly on the top of the stand. I applied it using E6000. And a word of warning, it slid off centre when left unattended. So you will want to make sure that the tea light holder is secured while the glue dries.I used painter’s tape to secure it overnight.
Once your entire mirrored candle holder is completed, the last thing is to remove all of the protective coating from the mirror pieces. Now all that is needed is a tea light candle and a glass of wine!
And that concludes another look for less challenge Click here to see my previous Look for Less Challenge. I will be back soon with another entry. And If you want to see the next one first, make sure you follow me on my youtube channel.
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Can you believe that these glittery blingy vanity storage containers started out as dollar tree gift boxes? Well they did. They came in nested sizes, and I thought how perfect they would be as vanity storage when I first saw them. [Read more…]
I decided to make a pretty feather mirror. And to tell you the truth it was awful. I’m not kidding. My first attempt at this was not good. Keep reading and I’ll show you what it looked like. So, this is in fact my second version, and it is sooooo much better. Having said that there is still room for improvement, and I will pass all of those things onto you, so that when you make yours, it will be even better than mine 🙂
As with most of my posts, I have also done a YouTube video of the process. You can click here to view.
The first time I made this feathered mirror, I didn’t use goose feathers. I just used feathers that I bought from Wal-mart and they were not tapered at the ends. They were more cut off. So the end result was not very symmetrical. I sourced my goose feathers from 2 places. I bought some from the dollar tree and some from amazon. The feathers from Amazon were definitely nicer, they were in better shape and were generally whiter. But they were a bit more expensive. I did a bit of math and the cost came out to about 50% more expensive. But they were still pretty affordable.
You will notice when you get your feathers that they do not all bend in the same direction. And since there is difference from the front to the back of the feather, you can’t really just flip them over to make sure they all bend in the same direction. So when you get all of your feathers, take the time before your start assembling to split them into different piles depending on the direction that they are bending in. You will probably also have a pile for those that are shorter and straighter.
Now that all of your feathers are organized into piles you will need to mark out your circle that you will use as your guide to keep the edges of your mirror perfectly round. To do this I used a display board from the dollar store. You could also use a large piece of cardboard. Then you will want to draw a circle the size that you want your finished feather mirror to be. I drew my circle 25.5″ around, which was almost the full size of the display board width.
To make my circle I made my favourite home-made compass. I used a Sharpie, a piece of string (or wool, or ribbon, or whatever is available) and a small screwdriver. Measure and mark the centre of the board. Tie the string around the screwdriver and poke into the cardboard at the centre mark and then use the string to determine how large you want the circle to be. Attach the other end to the sharpie and then draw your circle, keeping the screwdriver upright.
I used a large round pizza tray from the dollar store for the base of my feather mirror. This is one of the pieces that I think could be improved upon. I found the tray that I used to be a bit too thin, and a bit wobbly once all of the feathers and mirror were attached. So I would suggest instead using something a bit stiffer. You can still use a pizza pan, just not one that’s too flimsy. You could also just use a piece of foam core, and that would work fine too.
Paint the pan white, using spray paint, just in case it shows through in any spots.
Measure to the centre point of your pan and poke a hole in it and then using that, centre it on the cardboard, using the existing hole that you made when you drew your circle. Or If you are not able to make a hole just measure to the outside edges of the tray to make sure that it is centered in the larger circle. Then tape it down. Make sure that the tape is in a location where it will not be glued down.
Time to make that diy feather mirror. The most important thing when you are placing your feathers, is to use that outside circle as your guide, which will keep all of the outside edges perfectly aligned and make your mirror FABULOUS! So do not pay too much attention to the quill end of the feathers, instead pay attention to where the feather end meets the outside circle. Just glue into place. Since you had already sorted the feathers into piles depending on direction, do the first level or row with all of the feathers facing in the same direction.
When doing the second layer, use the feathers facing in the other direction. Keep paying attention to the outside edge and maintain the same distance from the first layer all the way around.
I only did three layers, you could do more, if you like. For my final layer I chose feathers that were a bit shorter and fairly straight. The goal with this layer is to cover up all of the areas where you can see the quills.
You will need to attach something to support your mirror, as the feathers are raised enough that you won’t have good contact with the pizza pan. I just used a piil cap, since it was about the right height and not too big. Since my feathers were a bit crowded in the centre area, I went in with a small pair of wire cutters, and cut away any quills that were in the way of the lid. Then I just attached it to the pizza pan using E6000 and hot glue to hold it in place while the E 6000 dried.
I used E6ooo to attach the mirror. This gives you lots of time to adjust.Once you have placed the mirror, make sure it is centered by measuring to the outside edges of the feathers. Then let dry overnight
To finish it off I added some decorative trim. This is twisted cord that I picked up at the dollar store in silver. I taped off the end to the cord so that it wouldn’t unravel and glued the end under the mirror, since there is room under the mirror. Then applying hot glue to the outside edge of the mirror, pull the cord around so that it stays perfectly circular. Don’t let it slip under or your circle will look wonky. Once the cord is applied all the way round the mirror, tape, cut and tuck the other end of the cord under the mirror.
Since the pizza pan was very thin, I just poked a couple of holes in the edges of the pizza pan, using a small sharp pair of scissors. And then tied off a piece of ribbon across the back. The mirror is very light weight, so can be hung easily without any reinforcements. A small nail or picture hanger will hold it up.
ok, ok, I promised I would show you my original version. so here she is in all of her glory, or lack there of. Unfortunately I lost the card. that had the pics on it, and the only I could find was before the mirror was attached, so the mirror is replaced here by a well placed circle. 🙂
Here is what it looks like in my spare bedroom with my zingy wallpaper
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This project was part of the look for less challenge for July 2020, hosted by Yami of The Latina Next Door. This is a monthly challenge that she hosts, where we YouTubers create versions of high end decor looks for much less than the original. I love this challenge, It really makes me think outside the box! [Read more…]
Nailed it or Failed it ChallengeRecently I did another fun challenge! This one is called the Nailed it or failed it challenge. The idea is to pick a decor piece that you would like to have in your home, and recreate it (or dupe it) for less. And then at the end, we ask our audience if we nailed it or failed it. Sound like fun? [Read more…]
I love the look of a Moroccan lantern. So, I decided to make some DIY Moroccan lanterns. I have seen these done before using mason jars. However mason jars are a bit more farmhouse than I am, so for mine I went with cylinder vases from the dollar store. [Read more…]
This was the first time I have joined up in the look for less challenge, which is hosted by Yami, of The Latina next door. This was done on myYoutube channel,where I duped this wayfair wall sconce Here is how it rolled out. [Read more…]
Ever since I started painting furniture I have been enamoured with French Provincial style pieces, especially bedroom furniture. I picked up this jewelry armoire along with a matching step out dresser. I always intended to refinish them seperately, starting with the jewelry armoire. [Read more…]
