Making My Own Mirrors-Etching

If you have a small home you'll need to learn that a mirror can be your best friend, it can make a room appear larger then it actually is! You'll also learn that they can be costly, so I've come up with a few ideas to keep the costs small, but still make my rooms look bigger! I find that with a homemade version there's always a little personality thrown in there as well. I like to have one-of-a-kind items without the designer costs so I always look and wonder  if I can make my own version of that item.
Pottery Barn had one that I noticed a lot of people were drawn to that consisted of many small squares that made up one large mirror that was nice to place above a mantel.  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/282952789061149860/  Hmmm, how can I make that?? Easy, the dollar store has packages of square mirrors that I could add to a wooden base, a little glue and black paint and I'd be done! Well kinda, I had an old painting the type where it's like a wallpaper print over a manufactured board with black painted edges.(Sorry I don't have a pic of the picture) I soaked and removed the papered print and then I laid out the mirrors and 12 fit exactly, with no room to spare. They were glued on the board with an adhesive caulking product similar to liquid nails and left to overnight to set. I had pressure applied by laying another flat board over the top and a weight added.

So now I had a large mirror but there was no room for the black borders in between the tiles as the Pottery Barn one had, I had to come up with a plan B as you often do with crafting.What do I have here??? I had stencils and etching cream so this is what I came up with.

First, I cleaned the mirror tiles with alcohol,  then I sprayed the back of the stencil with the tacky spray so the etching cream wouldn't leak out underneath. Next, I placed it in the center of the mirror and applied the etching cream where the wording and pattern was. You'll need to be careful not to spill outside the project area since the cream works fast to etch. Note: You are advised to wear protection when using this product as it is very corrosive, glasses and gloves at least.

Now you let the product sit for about 15-20 minutes then you rinse the cream off with cold water and examine it. If the etching hasn't reached every little detail of your stencil you may reapply and repeat. But I don't usually have a problem if you've applied a thick enough layer of the etching cream. In the photo below I had most of the cream rinsed off but now it had to be cleaned thoroughly and shined.

I was pleased with how it turned out and for only a few dollars I had a one-of-a-kind mirror, wallah! 

The cost was 4 packages of mirrors at $2.00 each and the other supplies I already had. The etching cream is an expensive product to buy but it lasts and lasts, the bottle I have is 4 years old and it cost about $35.00 at the time.

I hope I inspired you to try a mirror project of your own, with or without the etching cream you can easily create something that you saw somewhere else  for less money! Try it and let me know how it went, I'd love to see it because then I might want one like yours!