Posted 9 years ago
lndrozdenko
(79 items)
I took the liberty this week to take on a project that has been sitting around the house for approximately one year. I used to have an antique mirror hanging over my mantel in my living room. One day, the wire let loose and the mirror fell off the mantel and broke. My mission was to find another similar mirror to replace. I wanted old, not new. I settled for one from Home Goods until I found it. I was at a garage sale and, in pile of "rubbish" was a mantel mirror. It needed a lot of work, but I saw potential in it. I asked the the guy at the sale if it was for sale and he said he would give it to me for $10.00. I bought it and it had been sitting around for a year. A big chunk of the corner molding was missing - which meant I had to make a mold and replace it. I worked on that all week. It didn't come out perfect, but this is my first one. I can't believe I didn't take a "before" picture!! Here is the after picture. I made the molding on the frame and in the corner with plaster of paris and then painted the mirror dark brown with red and gold tones. It was quite a project. Here is the finished work. Finally... :)
Looks awesome.
Thank you Caperkid for sweet comment. It matches my living room. I am glad I finallly got it over with!! Thank you for the love as well! :)
You are welcome great post
Thank you again Caperkid :)
So clever! Looks fantastic and I hope you are VERY VERY proud.
Thank you fortapache and kyratango for your loves :)
Thank you racer4four for your nice comment. I am happy with it and I am happy that I finished it. I went to several tag sales and flea markets and antique shops trying to find a similar one to the one I had. I saw a few in the antique shops, but they wanted hundreds of dollars for them. This one is all original - except for my fixing the frame. It still has the original backing on it! I am happy with the fact that it cost me $10.oo and a little "elbow-grease! " Once I decorate the mantel, I think it will do just fine. Thank you again for such a nice compliment and the love :) Truly appreciated!!!
Congrats and Job well done, looks great. Always a good feeling to finish up on a project that been in the works. The amount spend sounds super good, like when things come together without lots of expense. Have a great day and again "Very" nice job.
I used to restore all my mirrors, some treasures I found for $10.00 for a very large ornate mirror. I spoiled all the savings by going for very expensive beveling on the mirror. Mirror cost me 400. back then, now more but I guess. Learned my lesson but always loved the frills, so the savings were lost. Nice job you did to get this back on the wall.
kerry10456 - Thank you so much for your uplifting and kind comments! It sure is a good feeling to get it done. - However, I think it was a diversion from what I really should have been doing - which was packing to ready to move!! Oh well... it was a mission and it is accomplished. It was also a good learning experience, now I what to do and what not to do if I should ever attempt another one!! Thanks again and thank you for your love!! :))
Bladerunner22 - I bet you did beautiful work at restoring the mirrors. I know they are not easy. I've learned from my mistakes on this one and, hopefully, if I ever do another, I will know what not to do!! I actually used plaster of paris to make a mold. Unfortunately the mold was not as inticate as the other corners so I literally had to carve out the design. Unfortunately, I did not have a "before" picture so I did not have anything to go by as to how far down I can carve without chipping the plaster off too much. It was tricky. So, unfortunately, the one corner is a little different than the others - hopefully no one will notice!! :)
I and I know others have used car body filler instead of plaster. It bonds the best, does not chip but is harder to carve, but just the best I find and that is all I have used for years. I hate plaster as it falls apart so easily. Like the commercial for a sauce says: " I use that s--t for everything " !