Frame an Outdated Mirror

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(This post has been re-pinned on PINTEREST over 3,000 times. SO glad it's helpful!)

My husband and I spent this past weekend working on a Pinterest project I fell in love with:  Framing an outdated construction grade mirror.  In our bathroom, we have two large mirrors, and we framed them both for about thirty dollars. 

I clicked on all the Pinterest sites that offered tutorials about this, but none gave enough information.  I corralled my husband into helping me, and we forged our way through, hitting some snags, but solving the issues.  Here's our detailed pictorial, just in case you like this idea too.

1.  MEASURE all sides of your mirror.  Then, choose the wood/molding you want to use as your frame.  We spent an hour at Home Depot considering the options - wide vs. narrow, mitered corners vs straight edges with corner pieces (our final choice.)

2.  PURCHASE the wood you need.  At Home Depot, a saw is available to cut approximately what you need, so you aren't paying for extra length.   At home, with a miter box, we finalized the cut edges of the four strips of molding that would line the sides of the mirror.

3.  MAKE NOTCHES.  If you have mirror clips (we have the flat metal ones), you will need to notch out a chunk of wood on the back of your molding to accommodate that feature.  (If your mirror is glued directly to the wall, you can skip this step.)

Hold the molding perpendicular to the mirror clip exactly where it will go. Draw the area that will need to be removed, making it a little bigger than the clip, so there is some fudge room later. 

If you have a router, notch out the drawn area.  If you do not (we don't), it's still easy to create the notch.  Simply saw several small notches close together within the blocked off space.

Once the molding is cut, scrape out the notched pieces with a chisel or screwdriver.  They pop right out. 

Your finished notch will look like this from the bottom.

 

This creates a space for the mirror clip.  We needed to create four notches, two in the top piece and two in the bottom piece.

4.  PAINT all of your wood pieces.  I used a white latex enamel for easy long-term cleaning.  Be sure to paint the back edges of all your wood pieces, as these will show in the reflection of the mirror.

5.  DRY-MOUNT.  Once the pieces are properly cut and painted, dry-mount the frame, meaning hold everything in place to check the fit.  We put double-sided tape on the back of our corner pieces to temporarily hold them while we placed the side boards.  You can see the faint outline of the tape here.

During our fitting, we discovered one piece was a tad too long, so we trimmed it down.  Once you know the pieces fit well, mark on the back which piece goes where.  Once they're off the mirror and you're applying the adhesive, you might not remember.  (We got confused a few times.)

6.   ATTACH your pieces to the mirror.  This is the adhesive we used. 

In most of the tutorials I watched from Pinterest, people used Liquid Nails.  We started with that, but it did not grab the mirror within a minute.  The first piece we applied with Liquid Nails fell off.  Maybe it was our technique, or we didn't apply enough...it just didn't work for us.  It might for you.

Power Grab held beautifully. 

We glued the bottom strip of molding first, centering it and making sure it was level (use a level.)  With each piece added, we quickly checked the rest of them, assuring the fit was maintained.   

When all the pieces were attached, we noticed the top right molding bowed out a bit and would not lay flat.  We clamped this piece tight.  Because our mirror is not glued to the wall (but held with clips) there was a small space between the mirror and wall to allow for a clamp.  I decided our mirror is probably bowed in this area and needed some help holding the wood.  We taped the top pieces in place for added security.

We let everything dry overnight. 

7.   CAULK the cracks.  No matter how straight your cut edges are, some cracks will be visible.  Use a thin caulk bead.  You can always add more, but you don't want a gloppy look.   These three pics show a pre-caulked crack on the left, the caulk bead, and the finished look.

 

 

I used a damp index finger to smooth out the line, wiping the excess caulk on a paper towel.

8.  CLEAN UP.  Once the caulk is dry, scrape off any glue residue from the mirror with a straight-edge razor.  We let one strip of wood slide while attaching it, so we had some goop to remove.  If you're more careful than we were, you won't have this issue.  I cleaned off the last smears and fingerprints with Goof-off. 

The twenty-two year old mirrors that formerly had borders like this...

...now look like this.

We're so happy with the results, we're going to update the other mirrors in the house.   This is an easy makeover and relatively inexpensive.  I used paint and caulk we already had, which helped.

If you frame a mirror and discover other helpful tips, let me know, and I'll include them here (with recognition, of course.) 

A great weekend project.  Happy framing!

 

Century-old Beauty

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The Back Pack is Full Again

I searched for one of my older posts this morning, because I needed to refresh my memory about life's burdens and why it's important to give God our worries.  You can read that post here, if you'd like:  Dropping the Back Pack

My head is so full this week with things to pray about.  I'm not complaining; I turn to God easily when I need Him.  But, honestly...it's the waiting that wears me down.  Waiting to see how He's going to resolve things.  Waiting for things to change, something to change.   I know He is sovereign; I know He's in control, and my worry/anxiety doesn't change a thing.  I know this.  But (the big but), because I am a short-sighted, restless human, I want myself and everyone I love to be happy and peace-filled right away.  Women are like that.

I'm going to attempt to lay my back pack of concerns at the Master's throne through this post.  Getting things out of my head is always therapeutic for me.  You, kind readers, are the beneficiaries of this brain dump.

1.  I'm having skin issues.  Moles that are "suspect" and spots called granuloma annulare that are benign, but ugly.  I've had two biopsies in the past month.

My skin is broken and sore around one of my wounds because it's suddenly reacting to Band-aid adhesive.  I want to stay home and wear nothing until everything heals.  Not gonna happen.

2.  Due to one unreliable co-worker, a young family member is having serious work issues.  Enough to make him walk away from an endeavor he put his heart and soul into.  It's not fair.  What are you doing, God?

3.  Due to a dishonest coworker, a second young family member is having work issues.  Enough to make him look for work elsewhere when he's built a solid resume where he is.  It's frustrating to see the trouble-makers gain traction.

4.  My dad continues to decline.  He got good reports from his cardiologist and neurologist yesterday, but at 90, he struggles to stay involved.  He sleeps a lot.  Some of the sparkle in his eyes is diminishing.  This makes me sad sadder.  

5.  I can't keep up with my house.  Something is always dirty, dusty, sticky, crummy, smelly, or missing.  I want a smaller house with no stairs.  However, until the housing market improves, we're going to be here.  I have a foreboding feeling of falling down the stairs and breaking a hip.

If that ever happens, you'll read it here first.

6.  I've gained weight the past year and cannot get it off.  My doctor tells says "well, as we age..."and I just want to scream, because I know it's true.  We get fat and mole-y and spotty and achy and dump our complaints on our blogs.  We sleep a lot and the sparkle begins to diminish.  I just thought I'd have 40 more years before I got there.   

7.  I think I'm still allergic to mango skin.  (If you didn't know this, you can read how I discovered that here: What You Need to Know about Mangoes.)  After our daughter and I picked several mangoes from a friend's tree, I got a rash on my thumb that only cortisone could curb.  Another skin problem.  I want  a new epidermis. 

8.  The daughter of a dear friend is struggling with a relationship she's in.  She's conflicted and just wants peace of mind.   Why is that so hard for us to attain?

9.  I need to buckle down and finish my WIP (work in progress, for non-bloggers), a Christmas project for families.

 My days are so interrupted, I hate to even open the file and start.  So I don't do anything.  I know this is a lousy, non-productive approach.  I know the book will never get finished if I don't finish it.  I'm just venting my frustration with myself.

10.  My solution in trying to lay down my worries is to bake.  Obviously, this does not help with number 6.

Every pocket of my back pack is full.  And I'm not even going back to school next week.  

I know there are people with worse burdens, with life-threatening issues, and I'm grateful for many things in my life.  I just needed to get these words out of my head.  They were clogging up the joint.

Thanks for reading.  Sometimes it helps to just be "heard."

Denim Phone Charger Pouch

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