We can restyle any old stuff that we don't want throw away. This way, we will have an original object made by ourselves, and bring back memories from the past at the same time!

The protagonist of this project is an old mirror with a plastic frame. It is a mirror that used to belong to M's grandmother in her home. Even though it obviously has no monetary value as an antique, after the hustle of having to choose from everything what is worth keeping and what is not, I had to rescue it and give it a new life for her memories' sake.

MATERIAL

• mirror
• rope
• silicone glue gun (3 or 4 silicone glue rods)

STEP BY STEP

1. To give to the mirror a sailor style, we will add two nautical knots on top and bottom. To make the knots, cut 8 pieces of rope about 70 cm (4 pieces for each knot). As shown in the illustration (in two different colors, blue and black, to make it easier to understand), put two pieces on one side and two on the other. Then weave the ropes and finally pull the ends to shape and consistency to the knot. Save the knots for when it be time to glue them on the mirror.
2. Separate the mirror from its frame to work better. We are going to cover the entire perimeter with the rope. So put a bit of glue on the section of the frame to cover, and press the rope to fix to it. Be careful not to burn your finger because the silicone glue will get pretty hot... if you end up burning your finger, you can blow on it a bit and that's all! :)
3. I started with covering the mirror's frame from the inside. You have to keep in mind that the four ends of each knot will also serve to cover the frame as well. So put the knots on the mirror's frame (without glue) to calculate the spaces that we have to leave empty (where the knot and its ends will be glued) and the spaces that you have to cover to avoid that the plastic frame be seen when we glue the knots.
4. Once you have calculated the spaces, you must cover inside the frame until reach to the desired height. Then, cut pieces of rope and glue them where be necessary to prevent the frame be seen once we place the knots. This step should be realized with the bottom knot as with the top one.
5. Glue the knots and the ends. The ends of each of the knots (top knot and bottom knot) will meet in the mirror's middle, so we have to join them, trying not to get the cuts noticed.
6. When we have glued the knots, we will be ready to cover the rest of the outer portion of the mirror's frame.

TIPS AND COMMENTS

When we use a silicone glue gun, we have to keep in mind that while we have the glue gun plugged in, it will produce heat and the silicone rod will melt. Therefore, put a sheet of paper underneath the glue gun to protect the table. Also, remember to unplug the glue gun when you have to interrupt your project from time to time. If you do not, you will have the risk of the silicone rods being used up completely, and the silicone glue gun will start to burn.

Feel free to share your Sailor Mirror, and send us some photos!We love the restyling!