SunBurst Mirror DIY

Between my Pinterest and blog obsession, for the last few months I have been dreaming longing lusting  after a Sunburst Mirror to hang in our little studio...

Inspiration images Found via Pinterest. Links to originals: Upper Left, Lower Left, Center, Right.

However, I wasn't ready to spend big bucks to buy one. Through my searching, I discovered that it's pretty simple to make them. So began my search for a small mirror and something to use as it's base...

This is what I came up with and it turned out pretty good! Even N was impressed. 

Here is how I did it:

You'll need a silver charger [$1 from Michael's], wooden skewers [I had these laying around], a round mirror [$4 from Michael's], a piece of thin cardboard cut to match the mirror, hot glue, spray paint [I used the silver that I had from another project].

Glue 6 full length skewers to the center of the charger -pointy side inward- at equal intervals. Then glue a full length skewer about an inch away from the center equally in-between the ones glued to the center. Then cut 16 skewers the same length- about 3 inches off each one- and glue those next to the long skewers that are an inch away from the center. [I just used kitchen scissors to create a groove in the skewer and then broke them by hand, it was pretty easy to do it this way.]

Hint: Lay them out in the patter you want before gluing, it helps you get a visual of what it will look like. Also, use glue on the bottom of the skewer and then go over the top of them with more glue. It'll help it stay better. 

Once the glue has dried completely, carefully move it outside onto some cardboard and spray paint the desired color. I used silver as a base coat before going over it with a gold acrylic because I wanted a tarnished look to it.

This is the gold I added because the silver was too much for our place...though if I ever want to change colors it won't be too hard...

After the paint dries, attach the cardboard to the back of the mirror with glue and then glue the cardboard backed side to the skewers. [I then went around and squeezed more glue between the skewers and cardboard to make sure it stayed]. Then place something heavy-like your husband's HUGE physic's textbook- on top of the mirror to press it down tight. Leave it for at least 1/2 hr.

Then glue a piece of ribbon or wire to the back of the charger and you're ready to hang it!

Now step back and admire your hard work [all for under $10]. Ours is bigger than I realized it would be so that shelf/mantel idea may not work here, but I like the SunBurst so much that I don't really care.

Cheers.