I am building a Vanity and wanted it to be able to light up for applying makeup fixxin your hair and checking your nails. I love a challenge but also have a budget so some of my experiments can be done will other options but this seemed to be the most economically for me. I spent less then 30$ on this project.

In this instructables you will gain all the knowledge you will need to complete this project.

Supplies

Led Strip light
Mirror
paint remover
rubber gloves
strips of plywood
razor blade
dremel tool
wire brush for dremel
black paint
white paint
glue
caulk
hot glue gun

Step 1: Find a Mirror

This was the first time trying this and I wasn't about to spend a lot of money on a experiment. I went to my local Restore and was able to find the perfect mirror and the cost was $5 dollars.

I then Marked the back 2 inches from the edge all the way around making a rectangle.

Next i took my square and made another rectangular 1 inch or so inside the first rectangle.

Using packing tape I tape the outside rectangle and then the 1 in rectangle leaving 1 inch of space.

then using a razor blade i scored the lines hoping this would leave a cleaner line one the paint was removed.

Step 2: Remove Paint

to remove the paint I used a spray on paint remover let it sit for 15 min as the directions dictated then used my paint scraper to remove the paint. then wipe it clean leaving the silver mirror finish visible

Step 3: Remove Mirroring

I then used a dremel tool with a wire brush to remove the mirroring took my time to get close to the lines

Step 4: Sand

once the dremel removed most of the mirroring I took a piece of 240 grit sand paper and continued to remove the swirl marks left by the dremel.

Step 5: Build a Box to House the Lights

take the 1 1/4 strips of ply wood and make a frame around the 1 inch space of now clear glass

paint the back side black and the inside a bright white so it will reflect the light as much as possible

Step 6: Add Lights

add the lights using hot glue to hold them in place. place the lights in the channel you created holding it down with hot glue

mount power supply using the hot glue leaving the ir reader long enough to stay visible so the remote will work.

Step 7: Mount the Box to the Mirror

Using the caulk I put a small bead down on top of the channels and place on the back of the mirror and let dry

Step 8: Test the Lights

Test the light make sure you happy with the placement

Easy as that this was a scary project going into it but once you break it down in to simple steps its really easy and fun project.

Introduction: Light Up Vanity Mirror