DIY Metal Look Mirror made from Zip Ties!

Look For Less July 2020

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!

If you would prefer to watch this on YouTube click here

Inspiration

My inspiration for this challenge was this mirror from Wayfair.

Although I really used it more as my inspiration than my model. Because the material that I used to make my mirror was

Zip ties!

Yup, that’s right I made my metal look mirror with zip ties!! I haven’t seen this done before, but I did see one made with cardboard, and when I looked at this mirror the shapes reminded me of zip ties, so I thought… why not? It was easy and inexpensive and fun!

Supplies for Metal Look Mirror

Dollar Store:

• 1 pkg. zip ties 7.5″

• 1 pkg. zip ties 14″

• Assorted sized adhesive rhinestones

• Small adhesive rhinestones

• Framed round mirror (dollar tree)

• Cardboard or Foam Core

• Bling on a roll

• Rust-Oleum metallic Reflective Silver

• Wire Cutters

• E6000

Preparation

Cardboard

Take your mirror and remove the frame portion. On Cardboard or foam core, trace around the inside and outside of the frame. Move the frame over and make an additional inner circle in another location.

Cut out both circles. Mount the smaller circle inside the larger circle using hot glue and centering it using the outline of the smaller circle.This will be your backing for the mirror.

Zip Ties

This process is the same for both sizes of zip ties. Connect the zip tie as you would normally, but only cinch it over the first or second notch. you want the opening to be as large as possible. Then using a small wire snipper cut the tail off. Scissors don’t work very well for cutting zip ties. side Cutters  work best. Then bend the tie all the way to the end and using pliers pinch the end so that it is creased.  Repeat this process until you have 24 each of the 7.5″ and 14″ zip ties.

Construction

Level One

Before I attached the zip ties, I reinserted the cardboard into the hole that I had cut it out of, so that I would have a level surface to lay the zip ties on while gluing them.

For the first level hot glue the 7.5″zip ties to the cardboard backing on the lower level, butting them up against the inner circle, connection side in, until the whole circle is covered. Then using hot glue go back over them making sure that they are all well secured to the cardboard.

Level Two

For the next level using the 14″ zip ties, attach them between the smaller zip ties, with the connection end facing in. Once all of the ties are glued in place, glue the sides of the 14″ zip ties to their neighbours. If you inserted your cardboard circle back into the original piece, make sure you run a knife around under the zip ties before pulling the circle out of the hole, so that nothing is glued down. After everything is connected, do an additional round of glue using E6000 and let it dry for 24 hours.

Painting

Before painting clean up any glue strings, or blobs of glue. I actually tried a couple of other paints before using this one. I love Rust-Oleum Metallic Titanium Silver but it really needs a base coat, as it is very translucent. I used Rust-Oleum metallic Reflective Silver.  It has excellent coverage and really looks like metal. Paint the whole piece making sure you also cover the cardboard and the mirror frame (mirror removed). Let dry and apply a second coat if needed, ensuring that you get all of the corners.

Adding Gems

Level One

The most exciting step is to add all of the gems. For the first level you want to add the gems all the way around the mirror, covering up the connections from where the 14″ straps connect to the 7.5″ straps. Although these gems are self adhesive, I used hot glue to ensure they stayed on.

Level Two

The second level of gems will utilize the smaller gems. Attach these where the 14″ ties connect to each other. Use hot glue to adhere them. Apply to every connection.

Level Three

For the outside level, use the same large rhinestones that we used on the inside level. Attach these to the curved outside edge, just apply the glue on the edges of the zip tie.

Mirror Gems

Using hot glue attach the mirror onto the base. Make sure you apply glue along the connection points of the zip ties, as well, as this will likely be the highest point. Affix the mirror Then apply a row of gems around the front of the mirror. These ones were smaller rhinestones, than the others, and the type that come attached in a row.

Edging

Once the mirror was all completed, I did not like the way that the edge of the cardboard circle looked. Even though you could barely see it under the mirror, it needed to be glammed up. So, I took some bling on a roll that I had, and cut it to fit the height of the cardboard, which in this case was 2 rows of the bling ribbon. Then I hot glued it around the cardboard to give it a glittery finished look.

Hanging

This is soooo light you can hang it with a command strip or even a thumbtack. I hung mine with a thumbtack and just poked it into the back of the corrugated cardboard.

Costs

My costs for this project were as follows:

• 1 package 7.5″ zip ties – $1.25

• 1 package 14″ zip ties – $1.25

• 1 package asst. adhesive rhinestones – $1.25

• 1 package small adhesive rhinestones – $1.25

• 1 round mirror – $1.25

Other items that I had on hand

• glue

• paint

• bling on a roll

Total Cost $6.25!!

Compared to theirs:

See, I told you I could make a mirror out of zip-ties!! I did, didn’t I? Well, I told Greg I could, and he didn’t believe me. But I did!! And actually it looks pretty good. No, it looks really good. Like I said, it’s not exactly like my inspiration piece, but it was just my inspiration. But whose to say I’m done with zip-tie mirrors? This could just be the beginning…

and here are the After pics:

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