50's Inspired Starburst Wall Art

Over the past several months I have seen many many Starburst (or Sunburst) mirrors in just about every home and furniture store out there. They look really fun but I wasn't sure if one would look right in my 1951 post-war cape cottage. After searching through different sites I came up with a design that was on the small side and included several elements from some of my favorites. I also decided to use an octagon shaped mirror to give it a more 50's flare. Here is my finished project...Enjoy!

Here are a few that inspired me...

from RUGSTUDIO

a DIY from HGTV

Global Views on Amazon

And my two favortie....

Starburst Wall Mirror from Crate and Barrel

AND

the Clarendon Small Wall Mirror, also from Crate and Barrel

 I was really inspired by the detail in this last mirror (you'll see what I mean soon).

Supplies: 2 packages of floral stakes, pruning shears, small mirror, bronze spray paint, gold spray paint, epoxy glue, glue gun with glue, paper towels.

First I had to remove the felt off the bottom of the mirror with a razor blade. I'm not sure if all of the mirrors have this but the one I bought was for candles (dollar store).  I also found and marked the center.

 

After deciding the span size of the finished starburst mirror I cut the floral stakes with my pruning shears. I'm sure they could've be cut with some other tool but since they were wooden I figured my pruning shears would work...and they did.

Next I started gluing the floral stakes with epoxy glue. I used the previously drawn circle and points on the mirror as a guide for the first four stakes.

I then added more and more stakes until the entire mirror was filled. As you can see I started cutting the stakes shorter before gluing them down (top right) instead of after (bottom left). This made the stakes go further with less waste.

Then I flipped it over and used the glue gun to fill in the openings between the stakes. This was not just to fill in the spaces but to add a dimension that will eventually be painted gold. I also cropped the stakes to achieve the starburst look (see below).

I then covered the mirror with painter's tape and spray painted the entire project (front side and back side) with the dark bronze spray paint.  You can see the cropped stakes in this photo. This photo also depicts the bronze color best. They appear darker in all the others...in case your were wondering.

Once the bronze was dry I ripped pieces of paper towels and placed them as close to the edge of the hot glue filler as possible. To maintain a more natural pattern I tried not to arrange them perfectly (hard for my type-A self LOL),

Then I sprayed the exposed area with the gold metallic spray paint. To keep the paper towels from moving, (due to the spray's force), I sprayed from outside the circle inward.

 After the gold spray paint dried, I peeled off the painter's tape and cleaned the mirror. 

 I then glued a picture hanger on the back....

 

 

...and found the perfect spot in my home.

 

 

Here's another look. I love it!

 

Thanks for visiting,