Making your own sunburst mirror for less than $20

I, like many others, have been drooling over the recent sunburst mirror trend. It seemed like every store I went to had some version of them, often sporting a $100-$400 price tag as well. I wanted one that was going to be very large and take up the most amount of blank space on my wall, but I did not want to spend a large amount. With a little creativity, I came up with this one. It cost me less than $20!

First, Gather your supplies.

You will need:

3-4 packages of wooden skewers (around $2 each at target)

A Plastic plate (Michael's carries thick ones for $2)

A Beveled mirror -this one is 14 inches (Michael's, $7.99)

A hot glue gun and hot glue

Spray paint (I used Krylon brushed nickel, $3.95)

Mounting supplies (I used a picture mounting kit from the dollar store!)

Get your hot glue gun heated and begin gluing the skewers onto the plate.

I started with each four corners and just went from there.

I free-handed it, but if you want a specific design, I recommend drawing it on the plate in sharpie before beginning, just to have something to follow.

-Also, if target is out of plain hot glue sticks, hot pink works well in a pinch-

 At this point, I was on skewer number 100. 

Time to break out the thin mints and wine and jam out to some Jewel.

Side note: Some skewers are bent and won't stay on no matter how much hot glue you use.

They just won't. So don't despair, you will use those later. :)

I went around the plate twice, once when I thought that I was doing it right, and a second time when I realized how many gaps there were.

And here he is finished and ready for a coat of paint.

At this point, jump up and down with joy and go put some band aids on those fingers you burnt.

I laid down my piece on the floor and covered every surface I could with newspaper.

It was late at night, and we don't happen to have a garage, so I used my living room and opened all of the doors and windows.

I sprayed the top with two coats of the brushed nickel, and when that dried, I flipped it over and painted the back.

After everything dried, I wrestled with trying to figure out how to put the mirror on.

The mirror was just large enough that it only touched the edge of the plate, and I needed it to touch everywhere.

So I took the remainder of my skewers and glued them horizontally across the plate, creating a flat surface so the mirror would stick to that.

Then I covered the back of the mirror in hot glue and stuck it on.

Everywhere I had read about making these, people said not to use anything other than mirror approved glue, or it could rip the silvering off of the mirror.

So if you want to go another route, you could use another glue and weigh it down while it dries.

After attaching the mirror, I attached my picture hanging kit to the back by following the instructions

And here it is! It ended up being very large, about 36 inches across, and it took about 90 minutes to make, paint drying and all.

I think it looks rather fetching, don't ya think?

So tell me about what trends you have DIY'ed?

Have you been dying for a sunburst mirror too?

Thanks guys! 

Till next time;