Here are all the instructions and materials you will need to make this lovely wall plaque. There are many different sources of inspiration for this type of project out there, especially on YouTube, the girls at Ten Second, and over the years in our very own Craft Stamper magazine. So go hunt them out. But this is how I have made this particular project.
Ingredients
- Walnut Hollow Metal (Sheet or metal squares, silver and coloured)
- Wooden mirror (cheap from IKEA)
- Strong adhesive such as Red line or Humungo
- Foil tape
- Walnut Hollow Tools (Including embossing folders, stubbies and starter kits)
- Other Embossing folders (Sizzix Textured Fades)
- Sticky back metal sheet such as Rangers inkssentials metal foil tape sheets or Ten Two studio metal sheets
- Sizzix Snowflake die
- Ultra fine sandpaper
- Acrylic paint in dark red and black
- Viva Decor: Precious metal: Red
- Viva Decor: Inka gold: Gold
- Maya Road Mist: Cherry Red
- Christmas Image from copyright free sites like Graphics Fairy
- Chipboard
- Clear embossing pad
- Cosmic shimmer UTEE clear
- Ribbon
- PVA Glue
- Hot glue gun
Instructions
To begin I cut a square of paper the same size of the mirror. I roughly sketched out different sized squares and rectangles. Once i was happy with the arrangement, I used a ruler to straighten the edges and cut out. I also took a pic of the arrangement so i knew were everything was going back.
I used the cut outs as a template, numbering each one. I cut corresponding pieces of metal, labelling again and set aside for later. I also cut corresponding pieces of adheasive sheet.
One of the corners of the plaque has slightly more detail than the rest and this is how I did it.
I cut a chipboard snowflake using a large Sizzix die.
Using PVA glue, stick the snowflake to the plaque and allow to dry.
Once its dry, you will need a piece of sticky metal foil to cover it. Cut it slightly bigger than you need. You can always trim excess off later. Carefully place the foil over the flake. It doesn't look much now.
Take a large paper stubb and very carefully begin to rub the metal along the snowflake. You are stretching the metal so that it will form around the flake without ripping the metal. Take a smaller paper stubb and continue to define the flake. Once you are happy with the definition, use a pokey tool to edge the snowflake (NB, dont panic if the foil does rip as you will hide it with paint later). Finish by distressing the metal with either a wire brush or fine sandpaper. This helps the paint adhere better.
Now its time to emboss the metal we cut to size earlier. I used a selection of embossing folders, some christmas themed, some not. Its nice to have a mix. Randomly emboss each piece of metal. Take a corresponding adhesive sheet and stick it to the plaque. Add the embossed metal. Use a paper stubb to make sure the edges are all meeting the adhesive. Continue all the way around the mirror. It doesn't matter if the metal squares don't quite meet as we can hide it later.
Where your edges dont meet, use spare strips of metal to cover the gap, or use adheasive foil strips. Also running metal edger tools around the outside of each square not only adds a decorative feature but stretches the metal slightly so gaps will naturally close up.
And that is the basis of the plaque complete. Its now time to decorate.
To start i covered the metal in Viva precious metal. I allowed it to dry, before using fine sandpaper to sand the top layer off.
Next i applied a coat of black acrylic paint over the whole plaque and left it to dry. I carefully buffed of the excess paint using a soft cloth. I repeated the process again using a dark red paint. This takes the shine of the silver. Once i was happy with the effect, i sprayed the whole mirror with a spray ink. Again this adds another layer of texture.
To turn this piece from a plain old mirror into a wall plaque we will add something to the middle. I cut a piece of chipboard slightly smaller than the mirror hole. Next I found a image on graphics fairy and printed it out on a high quality print run. I glued it to the chipboard and allowed it to dry. Once dry, I embossed with a clear embossing pad and 3 coats of ultra thick embossing powder. I glued it to the mirror with a hot glue gun.
To finish I added a silver satin ribbon and made a little metal flower to embellish.
You can achieve varies different effects. This one below was made using a base coat of black paint and Viva inka gold as a rub on the top. I also used coloured metal to make my snowflake.
And this one was kept as a mirror and very silver. I just rubbed it over with black paint and embellished with a chipboard snowflake, bell , embossed christmas image and metal sentiment.
I hope you are inspired to have a go and make a mirror/ wall plaque ready for the festive season.
TFL
Sarah
