Introduction: Drift Wood Mirror

By
About: Amateur woodworker with a passion for all things creative.

The first of what I hope to be Many Instructables!!!!

I have also had this project on my to do list for a very long time, so it fits that this is to be used as the first Instructable.

So let's begin...

Step 1: Try and Try Again

At first I needed to take off the mirror frame, which in this case because it was such a cheap mirror all it needed was to remove the staples, I mean really staples!

Once I had the glass all cleaned it meant I was ready to lay out how I wanted all of the sections of drift wood prior to gluing. This step was easily one of the most frustrating as I was never satisfied with what pieces should go where, which is why the picture shown looks nothing like the finished product. Although it was worth while as after some trial and error I knew which direction I wanted to take it.

Step 2: Base Layer

Next we can start the fun bit, after all of the pieces have been laid out as to where I wanted them to go I started to glue the main frame. The glue I used is 151 contact adhesive as in the link;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/GRAM-CONTACT-ADHESIVE-TUBE-GLUE-x/dp/B003BVM80A/ref=sr_1_4/279-2474730-7363736?ie=UTF8&qid=1436693288&sr=8-4&keywords=151+adhesives

The easiest way I found of gluing the pieces was to pour it into a pot and use a little model brush to apply it, this allowed me to be accurate and ensure no accidental spillage onto the glass.

I used the larger sections first as I wanted the mirror to have the look of all the wood being intertwined with lots of layers. Which meant I needed to cover up all of the edges of the glass.

Step 3: Layers and More Layers

After adding more layers onto the base frame the mirror was starting to take place, the only issue I had was: 1) Choosing which pieces looked right and 2) It was clear that the corners and edges still had glass visible.

The way I got around this was some of the driftwood still had bark on them. After stripping the wood and gluing these shavings into the gaps they proved to be a good idea as they also gave it look that I wanted for all the wood to be intertwined and to look like one solid piece.

Step 4: Hang and Admire!!

I knew when I was collecting this driftwood that it would make a really cool project. Would love to see any other examples.

Thanks for reading my first Instructable with many more to come.

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