When I saw these old mirrors from Anthropologie, it reminded me of an altered art project.
I have always loved old mirrors - as they were - just for their unique physical presence; which is exactly as they were used in this photo shoot to decorate this amazing loft space.
I love thinking about the histories that belong to each and every old mirror.
Who might have gazed in them? What was their life like? What did they think about? What was in their hearts? I never thought about doing anything to the mirrors other than to display them and use them. Then I got into the art of altering books. Once that happened I wanted to alter everything.
Too bad I didn't think of altering my husband- he might have turned out to be a better man! Or a Eunuch! Ha...Ha !
Needless to say once I began to look at items differently, I hardly ever threw anything away without contemplating how it might be used in one project or another. Then I started looking on the Internet at the things people were altering. That's when I came across an altered mirror project.
You can use photographs, music sheets, any kind of ephemera or even scraps of wallpaper. Old crate advertisements would be great for a Kitchen and old ads for parfums and powders would be great for a bathroom.
Once you've made your choices - position the photographs or ephemera, etc, on the back of the mirror, trace the area where you want them to be and then set them aside.
The next step is in removing the silvering from the area you have traced.
I was absolutely amazed to learn that Oven Cleaner removes the silvering. All you need to do is spray the area(s) on the back of your mirror with the oven cleaner and wait about 5-10 minutes.
Please do this outside in an open area as the fumes are toxic. And wear some good protective gloves!
I recently saw advertised on TV - a new oven cleaner that doesn't have the fumes - but since I haven't used it, I can't say whether it is safe to use inside for removing the silvering from the mirrors. So better to err on the side of caution!
Some mirrors may be harder to remove the silvering from than others are. You may have to use steel wool to smooth some areas down. But remember, when removing the silvering, it does add to the character of the piece if you leave some of the edges a little uneven and ragged.
When you have the desired effect you want, thoroughly clean the mirror and apply your items to the back using a decoupage product.
Art Is Good!
