Sunday, September 23, 2012

A Creeptastically Eerie Mirror


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! 

21 comments:

  1. I can't wait to try this, what an amazing project! I think the Maude Feely image is perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  2. OK, now I want to do this with a Lucian image!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is amazing! You did a beautiful job. I really want to try it sometime soon. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Grace, you always find the coolest stuff to do and make. *happy sigh* I would like to try this, too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this! I must try it for an art project.

    ReplyDelete
  6. If you guys try it, I really want to see the results!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is really wonderful! I'm all thumbs and toes (Eek!) but might give this a try. I love old mirrors when the glass goes all misty and this would work very well on one of those. x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Agreed, Minerva! I've read other instructions on how to do the process if using an already existing mirror.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Going to Michaels tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey, I found a cheaper way!! Just buy a mirror at the dollar store, take it apart and lightly scratch off the back part of the mirror with a razor so that the image shows through, then reassemble!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm a bit technologically challenged. Can you tell me where/how to print that photo enlarged?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Michelle, This link should open up the largest resolution version of it I had on file:

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H651oQniPD0/UF-oi494sNI/AAAAAAAAIlY/o7Ap02ITtRA/s1600/tumblr_m0utzfiyR21qcz8ujo1_500.jpg

    From there, you would just go through the Windows print queue and there should be an option to print 8x10 size! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great project, I think it would be a good thing to wipe some of the spray from the center for the effect. Thanks for posting.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this! Did you use regular paper or photo paper for the picture? What size frame did you end up using?

    ReplyDelete
  15. You have a lovely site. kudos to you ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ahhhh, I didn't think of making a mirror with the looking glass paint for this! I am excited to try it. Might not happen this year since Halloween is less than a week away, but next year for sure! - Oh and I've found looking glass spray paint at Home Depot for much cheaper than you can find at Michael's or Joann's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved the mirror project. I'll go by Home depot next time because Michael's was high. ENJOY!

      Delete
  17. I wonder how it might look with some dim LED lighting from behind? Leave the reflective paint a little thicker and you might achieve a Haunted Mansion ghost effect.

    ReplyDelete