Etched Quote Mirror DIY

My little girl loves to get all dolled up, whether it is in an elaborate dress-up costume or just a necklace and a diaper she can really pull anything off. Recently she has started asking to see herself once she gets dressed. She heads straight for the bathroom mirror to see what she looks like and to smile at herself. Most of the time she drags me along to hold her up so she can really see, but the other day I caught her trying to climb on the counter herself, yikes! I knew she needed a mirror for her room.

I received a Silhouette Glass Etching Starter Kit for use in this project. All opinions are my own.

I am in love with the gorgeous floor mirrors you can see in all the stores lately, but I didn’t have $200 dollars to spend. I was determined to make one for much, much less. I was a little inspired by the mirror from Snow White, but I wanted a more positive message for my little girl and then I saw this quote the other day:

It was just the inspiration I needed! I was ready to start. For this project you will need:

• A Back of the Door Mirror ($5 at Target or Wal-Mart)
• A Silhouette Glass Etching Starter Kit
• Wood in your choice of size
• Liquid Nails
• Wood Clamps
• Paint

I started by designing my quote in my Silhouette Studio program. I made the grid the same size as the mirror so I would know exactly what it would look like on my final project. In addition to the text I added a flourish shape that is one of 10 exclusive designs that came with my starter kit. In fact, everything I needed for etching my mirror was included in my Silhouette Etching Starter Kit which can be found here.

Then I went ahead and cut my vinyl with my Silhouette CAMEO. Next weed out the actual letters leaving the negative space behind and apply it to the mirror using the transfer paper.

Next, I needed to etch my glass. This was so much easier than I thought it would be. You simply spread the etching medium over your vinyl, let it sit for one minute, then wipe it off. Be careful not to wipe over the edge of your vinyl, as it etches very quickly! Once you have wiped it off, rinse with water.

Once my mirror was etched, I knew I wanted to beef up the frame and make it look better than a regular over the door mirror. After measuring my mirror and deciding how wide I wanted my frame to be, I bought enough primed MDF from the hardware store. It is a little more expensive than the plain wood but it saved me steps when it came to painting. I cut the wood into 4 pieces. The sides are 53.5 x 2.5 inches long and the top are 11.5 x 2.5 long.

Once they are cut use a thin line of Liquid Nails (thin is key, you don’t want to it to mush out the sides) and clamp the mirror down. Let it set for 24 hours. Once those are set, add the top and bottom pieces.

 

Use the Liquid Nails under the mirror as well as on the sides of these pieces to complete the frame. Clamp these and let them set as well.

Once they have set, paint everything white. Then distress the edges with a piece of sand paper.

This mirror will permanently hang in my little girl’s room, once I decide exactly where I want it, as a reminder that beauty is more than just your physical attributes. I hope to remind her daily that her happiness will shine through and that is more important than anything else.