Hello! Tomorrow is the LAST day of school for my kids! We are SO excited for this summer, and I am thrilled to have a break from all the end of the year insanity!
Since I have been so busy, I decided to share my post on how to make an Rustic Octagon Mirror! I made this project as one of my contributor posts on My Repurposed Life last year. I am happy to finally share it with you today!
Can you believe I made that?! I know, I still can’t believe it, and it really wasn’t hard! Seriously.
As you may know my bedroom has been an ongoing project for me for over a year now…but I will let you in on a little secret…it is almost done! Maybe I will actually FINISH it this year…fingers crossed.
Anyway, when I finished my Plank Wall I started thinking of different decorative pieces that I could add to the room. Of course with little to no money for decor, I have been searching for DIY projects that use things I already have.
I found this random piece of wood in my shed and inspiration struck! I knew it would make a perfect decorative mirror and I had just the shape in mind… an octagon.
After some figuring I decided I needed 8 pieces cut at 22.5 degrees ends NOT parallel.
I only had one board and it wasn’t very long so I calculated that I could get all 8 pieces out of it, if the long sides were cut at 8 1/2 inches. I set my Miter saw at 22.5 degrees and cut an end, then flipped my board and cut the other end. You can see after the first piece I used previous pieces to measure and cut.
Notice the one side is long and one is short, I just measured the long side and it was 8 1/2 inches. You could make it smaller or bigger to fit your needs. 🙂
Of course I knew attaching the octagon frame with pocket holes would be the best way so I set to work with my Kreg K5 Pocket-Hole Jig. I drilled 1 1/2 inch pocket holes (since the wood was 1 1/2 inches thick), and used 2 1/2 inch screws to attach them together, and of course I didn’t forget Gorilla Wood glue.
It is important to always clamp your boards when attaching wood with pocket hole screws, trust me!
I ended up using a scrap piece of plywood for my center piece, and traced the octagon shape with my newly built frame. Don’t you love the cool wood it is made out of? I do!
Then I cut it out with my Ryobi Circular Saw, the laser helps to get nice straight cuts.
This time I drilled 3/4 pocket holes into the plywood, and attached it to the back of the frame with glue 1 1/4 inch screws.
Now to venture into an unknown territory…Cutting glass. Dun dun dun!!!!
I was feeling pretty good about this project until this point. I have never cut glass before and I was a little scared. I had gotten a piece of mirror off the side of the road in someone’s trash a few years back and it has been collecting dust in my garage ever since…well not anymore, time to woman up!
To cut glass or mirror you need:
is a simple Glass Cutter(I got mine at Home depot for a project I haven’t done yet, haha, so I was glad I had it on hand, it was less than $5)
some oil (I used vegetable oil, that is what is in the yellow bowl)
some type of ruler or straight edge to run your glass cutter against
I ended up making two attempts at this. The top two photos above were of my first attempt and I used black marker, I couldn’t snap off the small piece on the bottom of the mirror it was too small (top right photo). Let’s just say using a hammer wasn’t my brightest idea…
For my second attempt I used a blue dry erase marker to trace my shape and made sure that I would have enough room on each end to snap off the mirror.
I lined up my straight edge to where I need the glass to be cut (bottom left above), dipped my glass cutter into oil, and scored it down the glass. Then with the scored edge on the edge of a table I snapped off the mirror (bottom right, I was wearing goggles, but I had forgotten my gloves, oops). It came right off, if I applied enough pressure, it was a little scary at first!
While my second attempt went better…it wasn’t perfect, I will share in a second. I am not giving a full tutorial on cutting glass, I watched a Youtube video, or two…and suggest you do the same.
I messed up on one side of the mirror and had to try and clip off a few pieced to make it fit, it wasn’t too pretty so I ended up purchasing this decorative trim to hide my messy edge. I think I am still in my learning curve on this glass cutting, but it really is pretty easy…after a few tries. Maybe I should have practiced first! Ha!
I cut the trim so the long ends were about 6 1/2 inches after measuring the inside of the frame. I did a dry fit to make sure it was going to work.
I used my “natural stain” that I used on my Camping Crate, to stain the plywood and the new “hide my mistake” trim. This was just after I brushed it on, it darkened a little more after this shot.
I brushed some black paint on the bottom of the trim so it would not reflect wood into the mirror. I was now ready to install my mirror into the octagon frame.
Right….I think this picture says it all, except I have no idea what happened. My caulk gun went haywire or my mirror glue container did…not sure which malfunctioned. A plastic fork saved the day and I smeared the special mirror glue all over the plywood. I love happy endings. 🙂
After I quickly washed my hands from the glue mess I set the mirror into place. You can see my messy mirror edge on the bottom right. You know…I am glad I made that mistake, cause the trim really added that finishing touch!
To attach my trim, I ran a small line of hot glue on the mirror and put the trim in place. Done!
I did it! I made a mirror, and kind of learned a new skill in the process! So awesome.
I have been loving this in my bedroom!
I think the reclaimed wood is really what gives it the character and charm. All I spent was just under $2 for the trim!
I found it kind of difficult to take pictures of the mirror because of the reflection, but at least you get a pretty view of my old drawers into porch planters that I made a few years ago!
So do you think you would attempt this? I promise it is easier than you think!
Mindi Carwin is a passionate and resilient creator who turns life's challenges into powerful opportunities for growth and inspiration. With an infectious joy and unwavering faith in the transformative power of creativity, she empowers others to discover their true potential and find beauty in every step of their journey.
OMG this is super cool! I would be so scared to try to cut glass. I love the rustic look of the wood and the shape is great.
Thank you for sharing this week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight). I plan to feature you next week!
~ Megin of VMG206
I remember that, just beautiful! Children here go to school until the end of June and start back in Sept., so they still have a month to go!
Your mirror looks great.
Thanks for sharing with SYC.
This is stunning! Your happy accident with the trim was a good one, I think it adds another layer of character.
Looks like a great project! It turned out so nice. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned & shared. See you again soon.
OMG this is super cool! I would be so scared to try to cut glass. I love the rustic look of the wood and the shape is great.
Thank you for sharing this week at Brag About It link party on VMG206 (Mondays at Midnight). I plan to feature you next week!
~ Megin of VMG206