{Tutorial} Make a Rope Mirror From a Tray

As promised, here is the tutorial for making the rope mirror I showed you on Monday.

You will need:

• a round tray (I got this one at Home Goods for $14.99)
• Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint
• Looking Glass spray paint
• round piece of glass, cut to the diameter of the inside of the tray
• Mirror adhesive
• rope (I used 30 feet but the amount you need will depend on the depth of your tray)
• hot glue and hot glue gun
• leather belt or other piece of leather
• heavy-duty thread and a needle

I had the glass cut at a local glass and mirror shop.  I went with the glass because it was so inexpensive ($8!) and also because I wanted to use the Looking Glass spray for a more antiqued look than I'd get with new glass.

First, spray paint the inside sides of the tray with oil rubbed bronze spray paint.  

Next start spraying the Looking Glass spray on the glass.  I followed the directions on the back exactly - 5 light coats with a minute of drying time in between each.

Here is the tray I started with:

It had handles on the sides, which I checked before buying to make sure I could pull off.  I used pliers to pry them off, then cut one end of the rope at an angle.  To start attaching the rope, apply a bead of hot glue right along one edge and press the angled end of the rope onto the glue to secure.

The angle helps disguise the start and stop of the rope (more obvious in this photo here than in person!).  Keep spreading hot glue and overlapping rows of rope until you get to the end, then cut the end at an angle and glue down.

To attach the hanging strap, I cut an old leather belt into pointed ends and drilled two holes at each end.  I used heavy-duty thread (I think it's often used for cross-stitch) and a needle to sew the strap directly onto the rope.  I then tied two small knots out of rope and glued them on top of the thread.

To finish I applied mirror adhesive to the bottom of the tray and pressed the mirror into place.

Now listen closely - this is IMPORTANT!  If you choose to purchase a new mirror, go ahead and use the mirror adhesive.  If you use a piece of glass and the Looking Glass spray, be warned, it is slightly transparent.  Slightly.  But just enough that you could see the lines of the adhesive showing through.  I smeared it around, which added to the antiqued look I wanted, but if you do NOT want an antiqued look, I'd recommend either a clear adhesive or using a new mirror.

I added a single row of rope along the edge of the mirror, to cover any slightly rough edges, but this isn't totally necessary.  I mostly liked the look of a little rope on the inside too.

To hang the mirror, I mounted a robe hook I'd had sitting around for ages and simply slipped the leather strap over it.

This rope mirror is the perfect touch on my screened porch, which I can't wait to show you...hopefully next week :)

I'll also share the updates I made to the blue bar cart that sits below the mirror.

Truly, this was such an easy project to pull together, and something I've been wanting to make for awhile now.  If you have a spot for it, give it a try!

Inexpensive, easy, and pretty is a totally winning combo, right??

I'm sharing a few of my favorite #inspiremediy submissions over on Instagram today so stop over and see some of the great projects others submitted.  There was so much goodness!

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 LET'S STAY IN TOUCH!

   
Linking to Craftberry Bush, Liz Marie Blog, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry