EASY DIY MID CENTURY MODERN SUNBURST MIRRORS - under $10


When I married an architect, I had three things come into my life permanently: a cat, a man, and his very, very strong opinion on interior design.  Mid-Century Modern is now king of the house (second to Fritzcatrick, though).  
Unfortunately, it can be expensive to buy authentic pieces from the era and modern reproductions are no bargain either.  That's where these quick-to-make mirrors come in to play.  Unlike their Pier 1 counterparts, these easy-peasy mid-century sunburst mirrors clock in at around $10 a piece.  


makes: 2
takes: about 20-30 mins.
YOU WILL NEED:
2 small beveled mirrors (5 inch diameter)
30 wooden dowels (3/16 inch diameter, 36 inches long)
Hot glue (about 10 sticks)
2 pop tabs


Wrap rubber bands around your dowels and mark them at 12 inches, 22 inches, and 29 inches.  Cut them with a circular saw or chop saw.  You'll then have 12", 10", and 7" dowels.  Split them up so that you have two sets of them.  

Trace a lid or other circular container onto the back side of the mirrors about 1/2" from the edge of the mirror.  Start hot gluing the dowels onto the back of the mirror.  My method was to put the glue onto the dowel, stick it to the mirror, and rotate it once so that the glue coats the whole dowel.  Alternate the sizes to give the sunburst effect.




Keep working around the circle of the mirror until you have used up the dowels.  You can space them more or less if it looks like you will run out or have too many.  To reinforce the dowels, I globbed hot glur all the way around the mirror where the ends of the dowels meet the mirror back.  I used a bent pop tab for my hook, as the mirrors aren't very heavy.  Just put a huuuge glob of glue on the dowels and smoosh the pop tab into it.  Then put more glue on top and wait for it to dry!  



Happy Decorating (or gifting!).  You can also spray paint the dowels if you'd like- I preferred the natural look of the wood.  I would recommend making the mirror and then taping off the mirror portion and then painting it.  It would be much easier than that hassle of a bunch of loose, wet-paint dowels rolling around.