What can you do with an old wood framed mirror and a can of spray paint? Check out this project and you will see how much you can achieve with just 4 dollars.
I got this medium sized gold colored wood frame with a mirror from a neighborhood garage sale for a dollar. Since it was so cheap, I really didn’t care about the color of the frame. Even though gold is not the color I’d choose and it doesn’t really go with the decor of my house or my pink work room. I was planning on changing the frame color when I purchase it.
Before I moved to the United States, I had no idea how to fix or repair anything in the house. I had never even changed a light bulb before. My mom usually took care of the fixing things around the house. When I moved to Australia for college, I still had a wonderful landlord that took care of fixing things in the rental. Once I moved to the USA, I bought a new house and started a new life with my husband. We both started reading and learning how to fix and do things ourselves.
We started by learning how to paint the walls. I’m in charge of the pool cleaning, chemicals, and maintenance. My husband takes care of the lawn and garden. Main reason we do things ourselves is to save money. Plus we really just wanted to learn how to do things ourselves since this is our home. Trust me, knowing more never hurts.
Back to the spray paint project, after having the frame for a while without doing anything. One day I was doing some shopping in Walmart and decided to check out the paint aisle. The spray paint was really affordable and you can find almost any color there. I grabbed a can of hot pink color for outdoor use and paid less than three dollars. Then I went home and started this fun project.
Step 1:
Use some painter’s tape and tape the edges. For the middle part, you can use a couple layers of newspaper to block the mirror section. Painter’s tape can give you a clean edge and removing it later on is super easy.
Step 2:
Take the whole project outside or to the garage, never do it inside your home. Not just because of the smell, but you can imagine the mess it would make. I did the spray painting in my front yard. I laid down newspaper in the area, placed the taped frame on it, and started spraying.
Step 3:
Make sure you are moving the spray paint can back and forth a couple times to give it a generous coat of paint. Pay special attention to the inside and outside edges, as it is very easy to miss certain parts and they won’t look good after the paint dries.
Step 4:
Wait until the spray paint dries completely ( usually about 30-40 minutes as suggested on the can ), carefully remove the painter’s tape and newspaper. Pay special attention to the edges, if the paint gets to thick and you pull the tape too fast, it might damage the finished look of the frame. Run a sharp knife or razor along the edge lightly if needed.
For just 4 US dollars and 30 minutes of your time, you just made yourself a wonderful, colorful unique piece of art. Display them proudly, and don’t be afraid to tell everybody that you made this mirror one of the kind.
