Good Junk Cheap!

I think the title of this entry pretty much encompasses the whole point of this particular blog. It's easy to have nice and unusual things if you're willing to keep your eyes open and put in a little sweat equity. I've been distracted by other projects for the last year and so not much has gone on here. But I have a sweet friend at Eugemia's Creations   who is constantly busy and keeps me motivated. If you've never taken a look at her facebook page, spend a few minutes there. Her style is very different than mine, and I love it! 

But even though I may not have things in the pipeline all the time, in the spirit of "cool stuff on a budget" I'm always on the look out for potential projects. This one came in the form of a frame hidden in a pile in a local junk store. That would be "junk". Not "junque". One of those places that you dress for because you come out so dirty. Those are getting few and far between and I'm glad there's one near me. 

I found this Eastlake style frame hidden behind several other things and covered in years worth of dirt and grime. Didn't think to take a picture until it was cleaned up. As I looked closely, it was obvious that it had been crudely rebuilt, but I liked the look so picked it up. I think the guy checking me out was disappointed I found it before he did! Not bad for a couple of bucks!

 

 

It was a mirror frame and I wanted to get it back as closely as I could to it's original state. So after cleaning it up, I was  off to the glass cutter. It's an unusual size, and I knew I'd never find anything off the shelf. After hearing that any kind of mirror with the look I wanted would be cost prohibitive, I  decided it couldn't be that hard to do it myself, so just had them cut a piece of plain glass. After spending a few minutes on the web, (on my phone while sitting in my car!) I headed to the hardware store and picked up what I needed.

 Vinegar, water and a couple of cans of spray paint. After cleaning the glass I was ready to go. 

 

The first step was to spray the glass with equal parts vinegar and water. A little hard to see, but it went on the glass pretty randomly and that's what I wanted. 

After spraying directly over the wet glass with Krylon looking glass paint, I carefully dabbed it all over to remove the water.

 What was left behind was getting close to what I was looking for, but it was still not "mirror" looking enough, so I re-wet it and spray painted it a second time, and once again blotted off the water. Much happier with the result the second time around. 

 What came next was a coating of flat black spray paint. I just used the really cheap stuff and sprayed it more heavily around the edges than in the center. Seemed the right thing to do to achieve the desired effect.

 After drying overnight, it was ready for a new home. 

  
I'm pleased with the finished product. I think the only thing missing that the original would have had would be a beveled edge to the glass. I can live without it!

The Lord will give strength to His people;

The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 29:11 

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