Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

This mirror was actually my mom’s, but it does hold some special meaning for me.  She has had this mirror for as long as I can remember.  It has hung on the walls of every house that we lived in, but tastes change, and space becomes a premium, so she decided to get rid of it.  Right now, I am looking for things to decorate my new screened-in porch, and so I thought I could change it up, and hang it outside.

Now, I did say this mirror does have some special meaning for me. A long time ago, the mirror was just a gold color. Like 1970s gold.  Then my Aunt Bee decided to give it a new life at some point in the very early 1990s.  This is where the special meaning comes in.  I was young, like 12 or 13, when I watched her wield her hot glue gun like a pro, arrange all the flowers, scrunch up a vintage doily, and fold a raffia bow into perfection.  All of this put together, and the mirror took on a totally different life.  This is the very first moment when I knew things could be changed, for little to no cost.  It took me a while to find my groove for remaking items but when I was 19 I redid my first mirror, complete with CitriStrip and sanding all on my own.  Anyway, let’s just say this story marked a beginning for me, whether I realized it at the time, or not.

On to the mirror redo:  while it was waiting for me to pick it up, the mirror had fallen in to a sad, sorry state.  There was dust, cobwebs, and grass clippings all over it.  I took it all apart, removed the flowers and doily.  I then had to pry the glue balls off with knife and give it a bath to get all of the grime off.  Yuck!

Here she is all better, and ready to be painted. Don’t mind my painted cardboard.  It has been through a lot with me:-)

I used Rustoleum’s primer that is made for plastics too, since this is plastic, and it seemed to do just fine.  Because it has been 100 degrees here and VERY humid, I was a little concerned about it not drying correctly, but it did great.

After the primer dried, I painted it Heirloom White, also made by Rustoleum.  I loved the color the minute I sprayed it on, which is odd because I am normally more of a color kind of gal.  I just think it looks a little bit classier now.  I have two bird cages that are also going to be painted this color, and then I am going to be putting pillar candles in them for the porch, too. I can’t wait to see it all come together.

I know this isn’t the best photo, since I took it at night, but I am so excited to see it up on my wall.  I might want to change it up at a later point, and try to add something to it, or do some chalkboard paint.  For right now, though, I like it as is. Once I get everything painted and in place I will several pictures to show the completed porch.

Thanks for looking, and thanks, Mom, for letting me raid your things!

Sarah

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