Sunday, 5 August 2012

Altered mirror

The challenge over at the 'Recycle, re-purpose and re-invent blog' this month is anything goes, and for the bonus round, to create something with a frame.  I have altered a mirror, which I altered a couple of years back, but wasn't really happy with it, so it disappeared into the bottomless pit, AKA  my hall closet. For this challenge I dug it out again, and first gave it a layer of gesso. I also found a spray of silver paint in the closet, and decided to use that as well. I don't really like using paint sprays, because of the fumes, but it was possible to work on the balcony this time. I sprayed the frame twice with silver. You can still see the papers and tapes which I used on it last time, but I like the texture it gives. Then I took a whole pile of used paper and fabric flowers, and sprayed them silver. I only gave them one coat, so you can still see part of the original colour shining through, which I like. I found two prima flowers in shades of grey, and left them as they were to make a contrast. I couldn't find a shell in the size I wanted, so I made one in an ice-cube mold, and sprayed it silver. I used a CWS stencil for the chicken wire pattern, and dribbled some crackle accents along the top,  down the right side and over the shell, and rubbed some antiquing paste into the cracks when it was dry. After arranging the flowers and shell, I found a grunge board flourish in my stash, which I also sprayed silver, and placed so that it curls over a corner of the mirror. I added some clear dew-drops on the right side, and distressed the edges of the mirror with black, and that was it.


Before the alterations









You can see parts of me in one of the photos; it was almost impossible to take the pictures without showing myself!
I had fun making it, and if I don't like it at sometime, I can always give it a new makeover!

Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for coming by!

32 comments:

  1. Beautiful mirror! It looks so elegant now! Hope you have now put it somewhere better than the closet! Have a good Sunday, hugs, Sarah

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  2. A gorgeous mirror Valerie, love the touches of turquoise peeking through. Haveva good day. xx

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  3. Wow, what a transformation you did to this mirror, its stunning. Love detailed flower corner.
    Yvonne x

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  4. Ahh it looks so pretty....

    Karenx

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  5. Wow, what a difference! Love the droplets on the silver background and the lush flowers :)

    x

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  6. Gorgeous transformation, and I really like the colors!

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  7. OH MY Miss Valerie! I think it's rather breath taking myself. hugs, Donna

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  8. LOVE this mirror, Valerie! Colours are just gorgeous!

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  9. I love your mirror Valerie. And those little rain drops are perfect. You have just reminded me... we are trying to sell our house and a friend told me to place a mirror under our bed. Worth a try :-) Julie

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  10. I love it - you just want to touch all the "stuff"!!!

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  11. Beatiful mirror you have made, lovely details!

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  12. What a transformation !and seeing the texture of the old work coming through really adds to it :)
    Von ♥

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  13. Oh my! You've managed to totally transform a simple frame into a work of art! What a great recycle project and you're right - when you're tired of it, it will have yet another life. Thanks for the visit - and yep, I plan to use those stencils I won over and over!

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  14. Oh wow!! I love the way you've altered this..amazing mirror!
    Hugs xx

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  15. Soooo cool! I love all of the beautiful elements you used - it's like a gorgeous under the sea frame!! xoxo

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  16. I like this reinvention. Love the colors and that shell with the bubbles, great touch. Thanks for entering at Recycle, Re-Invent, & Re-Purpose.

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  17. Such a beautiful piece! I love the colors! :-)

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  18. Excellent makeover, I loved it before and I still love it!! Great silver background and the flowers are just perfect grouped in one corner! The little glass beads are just perfect where they are too. Gay xxx

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  19. Hi Valerie, Wow this is fabulous so beautiful and tactile. Love it. Hugs Sandra X

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  20. Pretty, Pretty.. LOVE how you made this mirror look so pretty..

    Hugs~

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  21. Wow, I love the before and after! The after is my favorite and especially the silver flowers and those dew drops are really stunning!

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  22. Fantastic "make over", Valerie!!
    I really like the embellishments you added too, great work & yes, what fun!! :)

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  23. Fabulous recreation. The layers add such interest and depth. I really like the flower and shell spray that you added and the Dew Drops are a wonderful detail. Thanks so much for joining us at Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-invent with this framed mirror.

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  24. Talk about a transformation! This is stunning, Valerie.

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  25. Hi Valerie your mirror is fabulous and I particularly love the flowers. Fabulou Dewdrops too x

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  26. The little glass beads stole my heart and then I loved the flowers and the bits of colours from a previous life .... well i loved it all and cant wait to see the next stage in its transformation when you get fed up of it !

    Marie

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  27. Oh wow look at your makeover! Your mirror looks brilliant. I love the shell with the bubbles rising up! x

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  28. Love all the texture with the layers of paper, silver and flowers and the dew drops- what a FUN make over!

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  29. Beautiful think it might be a while before you make it over! XOXO Zoe

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  30. You took my breath away with this one! What can I say!!!!

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  31. This is truly a fantastic recycled, recycle and the whole thing comes together beautifully. I also like the extra texture the old tape adds. Thank you for joining us on Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent.
    :) Chris / CS Designs

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