Hey there, everybody! Welcome to my very first blog post! I’m going to show you how I framed my bathroom mirror, but you’re going to have to ignore the poor quality of the photos because they are actually screen shots of a video I took and I didn’t focus properly or have proper lighting since I was doing it at night in my bedroom. But, hopefully you’ll get the gist of how I did it. I can’t promise that my next post will be any better… but I did get a fancy schmancy new camera for Christmas and I pinky promise that someday I’ll learn how to use it and get you some decent photos of the projects I’m working on. So anyways let’s do it to it, ya’ll.
Alright… so… can you see that? Yeah. That is not a dungeon, it is my bathroom. And it’s actually quite nice in real life. This is the mirror that came with the vanity we purchased, added shelves onto and painted, and my DIY’in’ little hands couldn’t just leave the mirror sitting there untouched. So I decided to frame it! It was actually quite easy, maybe only taking an hour or so. First, I started by removing the hangers on the back of the mirror so I could reuse them for the new frame.
Next, I removed the actual frame with LOTS of TLC to make sure the mirror stayed in tact.
It was strangely gratifying to remove it, although I’m not sure why because it was a nice, pretty brand new frame.
And voila! You have yourself a naked mirror. Let’s dress it up a little, shall we?
I got some 1x4x8 boards of pine at Home Depot for like, $2.You can measure the size of the mirror and the pieces you’ll need and have them make the cuts there, or if you have a saw you can make the cuts at home. When I was measuring I made sure I overlapped the mirror about 3/4 inch on all sides so the mirror wouldn’t fall through the front. ‘Cause you just don’t want that. 
There are two ways to cut it. If you have a miter saw you can make 45 degree angled cuts on the corners to make it look more like a picture frame, or if you want to give a little more of a rustic look I just went the easy way and did straight cuts on the edges. If you have a chop saw that would certainly be ideal. The one I would have used was being borrowed, so I made do with a circular saw. And yes, I did cut this in my living room to keep from freezing my buns off outside. I made a big mess but it wasn’t anything a little broom couldn’t handle!
Once I made all my cuts and verified that they all fit together I sanded my boards down to get rid of the lettering and marks all over them. Sanding beforehand will also make your stain soak in a little quicker. 
Time to stain! I first went over my boards with Minwax classic grey to cool them down a little. I just applied a little bit with a little cheapie $1 natural bristle brush from walmart and then went over it with a couple of paper towels to spread it out more evenly and take off the excess stain.
Next I went over my grey boards with Minwax special walnut. This time I made sure to saturate all my cut edges really well. 
And again, wiped off the excess stain with a paper towel. Now they’re all nice and pretty!
Now it’s time to assemble! I laid all my boards out face down so I could see where I needed to drill my pocket holes. 
Let me tell you, if you don’t have one of these babies and you’re serious about building things, get one! They’re called Kreg jigs and you can buy them at Home Depot for around $30 or $40. It allows you to drill holes at an angle so you can screw together two flat boards without your nail head sticking out. I drilled two pocket holes on each end of my top and bottom boards.
Now typically you should have a drill bit that’s really long that lets you screw your screws in, but I didn’t have one for my drill so I hand to screw them together with a screw driver. No big deal, but I could have done it in .2 seconds with my drill. I believe I used 1 1/4″ screws here inside my pocket holes. 
Now that you’ve got your frame all put together, you’re gonna wanna place your mirror. Like I said, about 3/4″ on all sides should hang over. 
Now here’s a nifty little trick to getting your mirror to sit flat against the wall. WASHERS!!! I just found me some washers at home depot that had a hole in the middle big enough for a screw but too big for the head of the screw to go through. 
I put two along the bottom and top and one on each side. Now, here’s where you gotta be reeeeaaaally careful. You don’t want to screw them in too tight or else your mirror will break. And I’m not just talking about it breaking while you’re screwing it in, I’m talking about when you’re hanging it on the wall or washing the mirror later. It should be snug enough so that the mirror won’t move when you lift it, but not too snug that it has no give whatsoever. I’m speaking from personal experience, folks. 
Once I got my washers all screwed in I went ahead and put those hangers back on.
And looky what we have here! Isn’t she purdy?? I stained it to match the plank wall behind my toilet which I will have a tutorial for here soon.
Also, don’t you just love that boxwood wreath?? I made it myself for pretty. darn. cheap. Tutorial for that can be found here. You all are the best. Thanks for taking the time to read this through! Like, subscribe and comment with any questions you have! I’d also love to know if you framed your mirror and how it went!
XOXO
~Crystel
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