LOVE is all you need: Back-painted heart frame

Happy Valentine's Day! I'm going to sneak in one last heart project. 

This is a subtle variation on the back-painted mirrored year project I showed you last month, so I won't belabor the steps again. (Go check out that post or my other back-painted glass projects if you want to see more.)

I ran across this heart shaped float frame at Michael's. At first glance, it was not at all something I would normally consider buying.

In fact, I kind of cringe at the suggestion that I should put our wedding photo in it. But it was so... weird? Something made me buy it. And then I brought it home and did what I do with all float frames -- I painted it.

OK, so maybe the verse is cliché. But it's classic, and it's true. And who doesn't love The Beatles? (I mean, really, just go watch this and let it give you goosebumps.)

Back-painted mirrored year painting

Over the past couple of years, I've made many pieces of back-painted glass. The truth is, I never get tired of them. They almost always yield great results and leave people asking, "wait, you made this?" (especially when there's mirror paint involved).

My husband and I and his two siblings and their spouses all live in old houses. (Whew, that was a mouthful.) That's three old houses, each built in the 1930s. Kinda weird how it all turned out that way. (And no, we don't live down the street from one another.) Anyway, I love my old house. And I think they feel the same way about theirs, so I made these year paintings for my two brothers-in-law commemorating the years their houses were built.

First, I found a font I liked (this is Extra Ornamental No. 2) and printed out the year to my desired size IN REVERSE. As in mirror image. Any letters or numbers must be in reverse. Remember, you are painting the backs of the numbers. It also might help to print in a different color than the paint you intend to use, just to see things a little better. I knew I was going to use black paint, so I printed in red.

My print out was larger than one sheet of paper, so I tiled it and pieced it together with some masking tape.

I used a 8"x14" "float" frame from Michael's: the kind with two pieces of glass instead of the normal glass and backing. This is kind of a non-standard skinny size, but it works well to display four digits.

I cleaned one piece of the glass from the float frame really well with Windex until it was completely clean and streak free. Then I placed it on top of the print out and taped them together.

Then it was time to paint. I use acrylic craft paint for this. No special type. The new Martha Stewart line at Michael's is really good stuff and is made to paint on glass (totally unpaid endorsement), but I've used many different types and everything has worked fine. The paint will be protected in the frame and won't see a lot of wear.

Layer the paint very thinly. You will need multiple coats. After the initial coat, you may want to remove the paper from the glass and hold the glass up to the light to see if you missed any spots.

After the paint was dry, it's important to very carefully and very gently CLEAN THE GLASS again around your painting. There will almost certainly be loads of handprints to get rid of. 

When that is done, it is time for the Looking Glass spray paint. This is awesome stuff that turns clear glass into mirror glass when you spray it on the backside. Follow the directions on the can and let it dry thoroughly. When it's fully dry, clean the back piece of glass, put the frame back together and admire your work!

Like I've noted before, the looking glass paint isn't super clear like a new piece of mirror might be. The finish is murky and the reflections are somewhat dull, but I think it lends itself to an antique look.

So what if you don't have an old house or don't really care about the year a house was built? Try painting a birth year or an anniversary. (Or anything really.) Back-painted glass is definitely one of those gifts that looks more difficult than it actually is.

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This is part of my 2011 Handmade Gift Challenge.

Back-painted Polaroid mirror art

I had this giant 25" x 35" frame that was given to me by a friend (Thanks, Diane!) and was trying to figure out what to do with it. At the same time, I also wanted to make something with the remainder of a can of Looking Glass paint I had, so I paired the two for this project.

First, I taped off the shape of a Polaroid photo border on the back side of the glass. (Oh, yes, I did the math and scaled it proportionally.) Then I filled in the border with several thin coats of white acrylic paint.

When that was dry, I peeled off the tape and it was time for the mirror paint.

I masked off my border with newspaper to protect the areas that shouldn't get sprayed.

It would have been nice if it had turned out a little shinier, but this was how far the remainder of the can of Looking Glass paint got me. I didn't really want to buy another can without any guarantee if additional coats would indeed make it shiner.

Plus there's something kind of nice about the pewtery / dirty / etherealness of it. And it's still plenty reflective.

Making faux mercury glass with "looking glass" mirror paint

I have found my new favorite paint! Krylon Looking Glass spray paint. This stuff is like magic. You can actually create a mirror-like finish! I had no idea mirror paint even existed until I saw this idea in this Budget Living book (which, by the way, is a great little deco book, even if it is a few years old).

It's a little pricey, but I used a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby which made it about $7 for a can.

I took some pieces of clear glassware that were languishing in a box in the basement. A couple were candle jars that had been used up long ago. Sometimes I wonder why I hold onto this stuff, but then I end up using things for a project like this and it bolsters my inner hoarder.

I masked off the outside of the glassware with some painters tape and paper.

Then I sprayed the inside of the vases with two coats. The paint is very very thin (and, incidentally, smells exactly like nail polish). After I sprayed, it quickly ran down the inside walls of the glassware and collected in the bottom.

I tried to swish it around to cover the glass and that worked somewhat, but you can sort of see how uneven the paint dried. It contributes to the "antique" effect, but additional coats might even that out.

I thought I was going to have to do some antiquing with black paint or the like on the inside before spraying with the mirror paint, but after my initial piece, I decided that wasn't necessary. Lovely speckling.

Because I only gave mine two coats, they look a little transparent when the light shines through. But from the outside, it's very reflective and fairly opaque.

I had less success with the small bud vase. Because the neck was so narrow, it was really hard to spray inside. But even the very thin coat still produces a reflection.

The shade is more of a deep platinum than a bright shiny silver, but I like that. I can't wait to experiment on a flat piece of glass to see how that works. I imagine it will be easier to get a more even finish.