Chrysanthemum Spoon Mirror

Alright, yes, I gave into the hype.  I attempted a the plastic spoon mirror that has been all over Pinterest as of late. I figured if it didn’t work out, I would have only wasted a few dollars.  I have to say, my end product turned out looking nicely, but there were a few headaches along the way.  Hopefully I can help you avoid those headaches so you can get something like this without the agony:

I used a combination of this tutorial and this tutorial for inspiration and directions.  Again, I’m not gonna reinvent the wheel. Here’s what I needed for this project:

• 3 packages of plastic spoons (50 or so in each) @ $2 each
• 2 bottles 2 oz. acrylic paint (most tutorials I read recommended spray paint, but I wanted a more inexpensive option so I gave acrylic paint a try.  I used Folk Art teal paint.  I would recommend multi-surface, just to ensure it adheres) @$2.50 per bottle
• Paint or sponge brush @ 4 for $0.99 at Walmart
• Spray sealer @ about $5
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks: FREE (I already had these)
• Cardboard: FREE

Approximate cost: $17 (You could make it even cheaper by using Dollar Store spoons) First, cut your cardboard.  For the outside circle I used a pin with a string attached in the middle and with a pencil on the end.  I spun the string and this got me a (fairly) nice circle.  Neatness isn’t so important in this step, so don’t worry if it’s perfect.  For the middle circle I traced the mirror I had.  I used a 7″ mirror from Michael’s (if I were to do it again, I would have downsized the mirror a little bit, but hindsight, right?).  I cut these both out with a combination of an X-Acto Knife and scissors. Then, cut the handles off of your spoons.  They don’t have to be perfect, at least for every row but the last (I made the mistake of hand-sanding almost all of my spoons….my poor little fingers…) This is where my project differed from a lot of the spoon mirror tutorials I had read.  I chose to paint the spoons first, then glue them down.  Many other projects used spray paint, so they could cover the whole project with a coat of paint, but I figured that would be tedious with a sponge brush and acrylic paint. So paint I did.  I started with the original teal color on the outermost layer of spoons.  Once I had enough spoons done, I glued these on.  Then I repeated the process, but each time adding a little more white paint so the color got lighter farther in the circle to create a gradient effect. For the final row of spoons, round the edges as much as you can with scissors and then use your sandpaper to finish the rounded edges.  Glue these for your last row of your spoon mirror.  Here’s where the frustration came in.  I made my cardboard too large and the spoons were too closely cramped together.  To solve this problem, I cut the cardboard so the mirror hole was larger but ended up cutting it too big, so the mirror would not fit if I glued it on the back of the project.  Luckily, I figured out that I could glue the mirror on top of the last row of spoons and it would look just as good.  But note to others, do not make your cardboard circle too large. You have been warned. To finish the project, spray a clear spray sealer for shine, get rid of any leftover hot glue strings, hot glue a ribbon or string loop on the back (trust me, it’s not heavy, so a ribbon is plenty to hold it), and hang.  Easy, cheap, and beautiful.  (And hopefully not a headache for you.)

Interested in more ideas for wall art?  Check out tutorials for Canvas Art, a Wood Quilt Square, and Toilet Paper Roll Art.

Please feel free to comment, follow, or leave feedback.