I love this mirror from Layla Grace, but at $308 a pop this sunburst just wasn’t in the budget. Actually one mirror is more than the entire budget. So I decided to make my own diy sunburst mirror instead.

Diy sunburst mirror tutorial

What I love most is the pattern. But in order to recreate it you have to get a little technical. You’re also going to need a few inexpensive supplies in order to make you’re diy sunburst mirror.

5″ mirror

cardboard

skewers

5″ brass craft ring

I traced the mirror onto a cardboard piece I was saving for a craft just like this. Glad I didn’t get rid of it, see mild hoarding’s not  that bad.

I found the center of the 5″ cardboard circle very scientifically (I eyeballed it) and drew a dot. Then I drew a vertical and horizontal line creating four sections. I drew two lines intersecting those lines creating 8 sections. then I separated each section into three by drawing two more lines. Creating 24 equally spaced sections. Then drew a second circle about an inch in from the edge. Here’s what that looks like:

I bought a package of 100 12 inch long bamboo skewers and used 96 for the sunburst.

Separate them into 4 groups of 24 and trim off the ends. I just used pruning shears to cut them:

The first group will be used as is (12″).

Remove 3″ to 3 1/2″ from the second group,

Remove 4″ to 4 1/2″ from the third group

Remove 5″ to 5 1/2″ from the 4th group.

The half-inch difference depends on how pronounced you want the difference in lengths to be.

Glue the first group of 24 on each line on the cardboard, use only a thin layer of hot glue. You don’t want to have globs of glue all over because it will make it harder later when you’re adding the last set. Also try to keep them as evenly spaced as possible this will help for later on too.

Next, add the second set of skewers, but only glue them up to the second circle line. Your going to add  two on either side of every other of the first set. Here also using a small amount of glue.

Next work your way out from there add two of the next size all around and then the last size. So you get a staggered pattern

You can then add a reinforcing layer of glue atop all the skewers to make sure they stay in place. Now it’s time for the fun part, the paint.

I used Rust-Oleum Metallic Spray Paint in gold.

First remove all the glue webs and angle the can when spraying so you cover the sides as well as the top of the skewers.

After a couple of coats and when dry, glue the diy sunburst mirror to the center of the skewers. The brass rings I found (got them at Michaels) are the exact same size of the mirror, so I had to glue them to the face instead of the sides of the mirror (which would have been much easier).

Why couldn’t the stupid ring be 1/4″ wider???!!!

Glue Fail #1: I tried hot glueing the brass ring to the mirror twice. It made a mess and didn’t stick.

Glue Fail #2: I had a new bottle of gorilla glue (waiting for another project), I’ve never used it before so I applied too much and it was a mess. It said it would foam and expand in the instructions but I didn’t realize how much. I had to cut the excess foam with an exacto blade and then remove what was still stuck on the glass with alcohol and q-tips. NOT FUN.  But at least it stuck!

Next, I glued a ring hanger to the cardboard on the back of the sunburst with gorilla glue. I didn’t want to risk this thing falling because the hot glue didn’t hold.

Update: I realized I hadn’t posted any pictures of the diy mirror back, where the hanger was attached.

Here are a couple of photos, please disregard the gorilla glue mess on the hanger and the stained carpet ( we will hopefully be changing it in the near future).

Just to clarify; the hanger is attached to the cardboard circle, the skewers are attached to the other side of the cardboard, the mirror is attached directly to the skewers and then the metal ring is attached to the mirror. Phew, that was a mouthful!

I cut out a circle out of paper to protect the glass and then sprayed the sides of the mirror and ring to cover up the remaining bits of blue.

DIY Sunburst Mirror Cost Breakdown:

• Mirror $1 (dollar tree)
• Skewers $2 (Publix)
• Cardboard (free)
• Gold Spray Paint ($5)
• Hot Glue, Gorilla Glue (had it)
• Ring Hangers (had them, got them at home depot)

Total: $8 (Yay!) I still have $300 to spend on something else.

There you have it, an easy and really cheap way to make your own diy sunburst mirror, that actually looks better than the store-bought version. I love it so much I made two. Now I just have to decide where to hang them. Here’s their temporary spot.

They are most likely going to go in the master bedroom. I’m working on the master bedroom mood board, so I’ll show you what I’m going to do soon.

Update: Ok, I’m still (not really) working on the Master Bedroom. However, I did finally make my very own pipe shelves and hung both mirrors right above them.

I love how they look there in the entry. Let me know what you think, should they stay or should I put them in the bedroom?

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