Happy Holidays!

December 17, 2022: Hi all. I'm still here, just been very busy (who of us is not?) I'm working on updating Maison Newton bit by bit, it's been awhile since I changed things up. Happy Holidays to all, soon the Winter Solstice will arrive and then the days will start to get longer once again, hooray!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Researching How to Make a Rope Border Mirror

Well, wouldn't you know it.  A few days ago, while I was looking at this and that, I came across -- somewhere and for the life of me I don't remember where (Wayfair???) -- a photograph of a beautiful and very expensive rope-border mirror.  The one I saw was rectangular.  I thought to myself, Gee, self, I'm surprised someone hasn't come up with a DYI for this.

Ha ha ha, Jan!  Of course they have!  It was maybe all of 30 minutes later that I visited The Shabby Creek Cottage Blog and lo and behold!  There, right before my bedazzled eyes, was a complete pictorial tutorial (rhyme!) on how to make your own round rope mirror! She even cut her own dang mirror to the size she wanted from a Goodwill purchased mirror!  This woman is like Super Woman, let me tell you.  The resulting mirror sure is beautiful!  June 11, 2012 How to Make: Rope Mirror.  This mirror cost $21.50 for materials.

So, as my plans for trying to buy candle sconces for the upstairs bathroom have come to naught (that's a whole 'nother blog post, darlings!), tonight I went looking for that rectangular rope mirror and of course, couldn't find it! 

But I did find this big round beauty at Pottery Barn:


It's a big whopping 32" in diameter and $349.  Ahem, I would love it, but no way am I going to pay that kind of money for a mirror, unless it's signed by Marie Antoinette herself.

Here are some other DIY rope mirrors.  I do not think I will ever get over being absolutely amazed at how ingenious you all can be when it comes to doing things like this.  I'm just ga-ga over these mirrors, not just because they're so pretty -- I actually embarked on a totally separate and totally unrelated project recently to give a new look to my mantle area in the front room and it involved working with what I already have in the house -- some round brass trays and decorative brass plates, a smallish bullseye mirror, a sphereis (that's what I call it -- they're used a lot as garden decorations and I believe it's an old symbol for the now defunct Atomic Energy Agency, LOL!)  I'm sure I'll kick myself when I remember the proper name for this simple 3-dimensional hollow globe-y thing tomorrow at 3 a.m....  Now darlings, I'm telling you, a rope mirror -- well, a reasonable facsimile -- would look just great on that wall above the fireplace -- except I'd probably paint my rope gold -- I'm a sucker for some glitz and glimmer :)

Nate Berkus mirror
Check out this pictorial tutorial (har! - see rhyme above) at The Nate Berkus Show.  I have no idea who Nate Berkus is, and no idea what the date is on this project, but I've got to tell you, he (if it is a "he" -- well, the hands look like man hands, but darlings, everything can be faked these days...) makes the project look so easy -- even easier than The Shabby Creek Cottage project (see above) because you know, I don't mess with power saws!  Nope, no way.  This one uses a cut out of CARDBOARD and hey, I can do that with a good strong pair of scissors or an exacto knife.  Hmmm....  The Nate Berkus Show: How to Make a Rope Mirror (couldn't find a date).  Nate, I hope you won't mind my showing a photo of the final product -- ingeniously constructed with it's own rope hanger!  This mirror cost about $35 for materials. 


Rope border/rope hanger mirror project,
Martha Stewart
Well, this next link only goes to show you how hopelessly behind the times I am, because it's from 2011!  It shows Nate's mirror (above), and two others:  one using an IKEA round mirror as a "base" and a Martha Stewart project:  From Shelterness, 3 Cool DIY Rope Mirrors.  FYI, the IKEA round mirror project should more correctly be called "a rope-hung mirror" (with the rope attached to two sides of the mirror).  Link from the original instructions at Apartment Therapy.  The Martha Stewart project uses a 10" mirror as a base and no hot glue gun!  I don't own one of those and the thought of attempting to use one scares the crap out of me, truth be told.  Martha comes through for those of us glue-gun challenged chicks!  Her instructions are exquisitely simple to follow with some photos -- there are not so many steps and actually, after looking at Nate Berkus' rope mirror, I think combining Martha's instructions with Nate's technique to make a fully-incorporated rope hanger as part of the rope "frame" would make things even simpler.  Hmmm....  

Oy, just saw that the rectangular rope border mirror I came across a few days ago was from Ballard Designs.  Well of course it was.  Duh, Jan!  And, what's more, it's been around since 2011.  Oops -- just found a site that dates back to November 3, 2010 that's talking about the exact same Ballard Designs mirror and Nate Berkus' design take-off on same.  LOL!  Well, a good idea is just damn timeless, darlings.  That's all for tonight.

Seriously, I'm going to take a good hard look at ordering a round mirror from IKEA, and using a combination of Martha Stewart's and Nate Berkus' techniques to create a fabulous rope-bordered mirror to hang above my mantle.

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