Need a DIY project? This sunburst mirror is a fun little project.
Have you ever had a little corner or space at home that needed a statement piece to bring the entire space together in harmony for your brain to feel at ease? I did! and I hated seeing this area in my house empty.
After the hubby and I moved into our first home I knew I wanted to have a little space for a bar cart. I got online and bought a cute little golden bar cart. The minute it arrived I assembled it and placed it right by the wall where I wanted it but the space was looking a little bland and needed something on the wall to give it a more character.
I thought about putting floating shelves or some art work but I settled on a statement mirror. I searched the internet and the local stores for a statement mirror but the ones I liked were going to make a pretty heavy dent on my wallet so I decided to make my own!
I envisioned a sunburst mirror with driftwood or some antique golden sun-like accent on the perimeter. I really wanted the Loretta Sunburst mirror from Scully & Scully but that mirror was way out of my budget so instead I opted to make that sunburst look with wood shims. Yes! SHIMS!
This is what you'll need:
17 packs of wood shims
Wood glue
Pack of 1 inch Chiseled foam paint brushes
Clamps (The more the better!)
Rubber bands (Optional)
10” Round mirror
2 Picture hangers
Wire
Damped rag
I picked the wood shims that had multiple shades to give it more character and make it look more unique from my local Home Depot.
You can get wood shims that have the same color and stain them whatever color if you want as well, just make sure to stain them before gluing them together.
I chose to leave mine the way they came since I was going for a more natural wood look.
You want to glue a total of 11 pieces of wood shims together to make that “sun burst” look.
I started by gluing together two wood shims about 1 cm down on either side of the “starting piece” of wood shim.
Use the 1 inch chiseled foam paint brush to distribute the glue evenly.
Make sure not to apply wood glue to the top section.
Wipe any excess wood glue with a damp rag.
Clamp down the pieces or use rubber bands to hold them together while they dry. I used Bar Clamps and Spring clamps.
This will be your center piece of a “sunburst” shape piece.
While those pieces are drying, glue 2 sets of four wood shims in a downward slope 1 cm down from the top of the previous wood shim.
Remember to not apply glue to the 1 cm that you’re leaving at the top!
Now that you have all three sets nice and dry, glue the 2 sets of the 4 piece wood shims to the center 3 piece of wood shims and clamp them together to form a singular “sun burst” shape piece.
Once you glue a total of 17 “sun burst” pieces together, you will be left with extra wood shims. (Don’t worry you will use those extra pieces).
Glue one of the extra piece of wood shim in between 2 “sun burst” pieces about 1 cm below the end wood shim pieces of each “sun burst” piece until all the pieces form a sun shape piece.
You can use something heavy to hold the pieces you’re gluing together until you close the sun-like structure or use C-clamps.
If your wood shims came like mine and not all where the same width leaving you with one side flat and the other side completely uneven, sand the uneven side to your liking or leave it as is.
After you have the full sun-like structure glued and dried, turn the structure to the side that will be facing the wall and apply plenty of wood glue to the center where you see tons of gaps and in any other place where you see any gaps to reinforce the structure even further. Let it completely dry to make sure the structure will be sturdy.
Glue the 10” round mirror to the middle of the structure on the side that will be facing out and carefully screw the picture hangers on the back of the sunburst mirror.
Add the wire and twist the ends multiple times to reinforce it.
Lastly, hang your DIY Sunburst mirror project on the wall!
