A Starburst Mirror for the Dining Room

I’ve been ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing” over all the Starburst Mirrors out there. I think they’re just gorgeous.

But I couldn’t really find one to fit my style.
I’ve been wanting one for our dining room – I have the perfect little 1/4 wall for it. ;)
Well after looking and plotting and trying to figure out materials – I had the idea that since it was for the dining room, it might look cute made from Silverware!

After much debate on layout (Mr. F.T. absolutely LOVES being a craft adviser, haha) and lots of glue, this is what I came up with!!

And a closeup:

It was soooo easy to make.

Here’s a quick tutorial in case you’d like one too!!

You’ll need:

Round Mirror – this one is 7″
(I picked it up at Joann’s)
Plate, a few inches larger than the mirror
Cardboard
Silverware (Depends on your layout. I used 12 knives, 8 forks, & 12 spoons)
Beads (enough to go around mirror)
Glue (I used hot glue)

Start by cutting 2 circles out of cardboard. Measure halfway between the bottom rim of the plate and edge to make your circle.

Glue the two circles together with hot glue. This will give you a stable base for your silverware.
You could also use wood or something else as a base, I was just going for cheap. ;)

(You thought I was kidding when I said I had terrible paper cutting skills didn’t you?
Evidently it also extents to cardboard. Don’t judge.)

Press the rim of the plate down onto the circle, then trace this with a pen. That way you know how to place your silverware.

Start working on your layout. I recommend laying out all the silverware, then gluing it on.

I started with knives. They were the fattest in width so I didn’t want them under the plate at all.
I lined them up with the traced rim line.

Then I added in forks. . .

And then spoons. Use whatever pattern and layout you like.
I played with a lot of different looks before I settled on this one.

Place your plate on the layout and make sure that it lays as flat as possible. Make any spacing adjustments you need to.

Start gluing on the silverware, working your way around the circle.

***Update: After a year and a half I have had a couple of items loosen because of the hot glue. Rather than risk the entire shebang crashing to the floor, I pried off the plate and stabilized everything with E-6000. That should hold it through minor earthquakes and teenagers. I’ll keep you posted though.

Check your layout with your plate as you go. You might need to redo a couple pieces.
(I did. And doesn’t that look so nice and tidy.)

Finish all the silverware. It won’t look too pretty but the plate covers up the mess.

Add a good layer of glue to the cardboard to hold your plate on.

Ahhh. That’s better.

Add a layer of glue to the back of your mirror and glue that to the center of the plate.

Before you glue on any beads, take a minute and clean any smudges or fingerprints off your mirror.

Glue a ring of beads or pearls around the mirror’s edge.

And that finishes it off!!
So easy right??

I hung it on the wall by putting three nails at the bottom of the cardboard, in a curve,
and one nail at the top of the cardboard, so the nail head holds it on.

I really love the combination of the vintage plate and silverware with the mirror and pearls – but I want to hear what you think!!

I’m linking to Today’s Creative Blog, Met Monday, Skip to my Lou, Tutorials & Tips Tuesday, 
and the other fabulous parties on the sidebar – make sure you check them out!

*** UPDATES – I am not having a problem with the hanging method – but I think that I’m going to reinforce it a bit. I don’t want the cardboard to weaken over time and crash.
Also – I would consider spray painting your cardboard a color close to your walls. Where I’ve got it hanging you can see the cardboard from one angle. It would blend with the wall better if it was painted. ;) ***