Welcome to Autumn, my pretties! The season of cider, falling leaves, and Halloween! Right after Halloween last year, I saw a blog post from the awesome geek-blog Epbot that included a theorized (not actually tested) craft idea suggesting how to make a "haunted mirror"...I saved the idea because I thought it was fantastic, and I've been looking forward to trying it for Halloween this year.
The steps are delightfully easy and fun to get creative with...my favorite sort of craft.
Step 1: Pick an image that speaks to you eerily. For me, it was a photo of silent screen actress Maude Fealy, made a bit more macabre by a photoshop artist. Print the photo out to your desired frame size. I made mine 8x10.
Step 2: Buy a cheap frame in whatever size you desire. I got mine from the Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, a dollar.
The only other supply you need is the most expensive one: Krylon Looking Glass spray paint, which at $12 for a small can is a bit steep, but you can decrease the price a little if you print out a percent-off coupon for Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.
Step 3: Remove the glass from the frame and clean it. Carefully follow the directions on the spray paint to spray the *back* of the glass. I repeat, you will be spraying the side of the glass that will eventually be facing inward toward the image. Your goal here is to do light coats, and to spray significantly more layers around the outside of the glass than the middle where your image face will peek through.
Step 4: Wait for the paint to dry. After 20 minutes or so, I found (this could vary depending on how thick a layer you sprayed, so be cautious) the glass was dry enough to carefully flip and hover right above the printed image to check for any alterations that had to be made. Since this was my first attempt at the craft, I had sprayed too thickly in the center, so I took a rag and rubbed away the center. Since the goal is for the mirror to look antiqued and a little creepy, I knew these "scratches" in the "antique mirror" wouldn't harm the appeal. I re-sprayed a thin layer in the center where the face would be peering through.
With time and practice, I suspect you could be more successful in creating a smooth, non-scratched mirror surface with thinner coats of reflective paint toward the middle.
Now it's simple: Once the glass has dried, just reassemble the frame and add your image to the back. Put the "haunted mirror" on your wall and enjoy!!
Other than the spray paint, the cost of this craft is absolutely negligible...just the cost of a cheap frame and printed image. I can't wait to try making more of these!
