DIY Rope Mirror

Let me start by saying this is probably my favorite DIY project to date. This had all the great elements of a good DIY- low cost, high impact, and fairly simple.  It all started when my father in law bought me a pair of mirrors he picked up at a thrift shop.  I think he paid $10 for both.  He knew we were redoing the bathrooms and getting rid of the builder mirrors and thought these were something I could use.  It sat in the garage for about a month while I mused it over.  Then suddenly I was hit with a brilliant idea. Here it was before we began:

I am really into adding layers of texture and interest into our home right now and one of my favorite ways I had done that was with my DIY rope wreath.  Maybe it’s the yearning for summer or maybe I just like the ruggedness of rope, who knows, but either way I randomly was struck with an idea- why not cover the mirror frame in rope?  So like any good DIYer, I waited approximately three hours, impatient for Scott to get home from tutoring so we could go to Home Depot.  Finally, off we went and I picked up two bags of rope at $6 each, sat my mirror on a blanket and began hot gluing the rope to the frame.

I started by measuring approximately how much rope I would need to make one loop on the outside edge of the frame, then cut it a bit long, just in case.  Then I glued and laid the rope down in about 6 inch sections at a time until I got to the end and carefully cut the rope so the ends met perfectly.

Can I take a moment to say that if you are working with hot glue be careful? I won’t lie to you- you will probably burn yourself at one point.  And it will hurt.  A lot. But you must go on!

I repeated this process over and over until, 12 hot glue sticks later….I ran out of hot glue.  On a Sunday night. 🙁 When all the craft stores are closed and WalMart is at the peak of it’s shopping terror.  So…I had to wait a whole day.  BOOOOO.

The next night I picked up where I had left off and it took me about 40 glue sticks altogether.  Seriously…buy a ton of glue! In the end it took 8 layers of rope to complete the project and I went through about 1 1/4 bags of rope.  It took me probably 3 hours altogether but it was SO worth it.  Ignore the streakiness and just look at the gorgeousness:

I mean…this texture…love.

Of course- a before and after:

In the end it cost:

Mirror: $5
Rope: $12
Hot Glue: $6

Total: $23
(Since I was given the mirror and used a gift certificate I got from work to purchase the rope- thanks friends!– our version only cost us $6)

I already have a special place for it to hang – check back next week to see! 🙂

What should I cover in rope next? A frame is on my list for sure.  A can to make a vase? An old brick to make a chic doorstop? Shoes?!? Who knows…the possibilities are endless!!