Make a Sad Window Cheerful Three Ways, Part 3
Leaded Glass Mirror with Metal Tape
Easy
Window Decor
© Stephie McCarthy
VIDEO LINK
This window and mirror combination is the new focal point on the back porch. A big success, something we'll enjoy for a long time.
It was months and months in the works and when it was finished, it made the stone wall look less like a shed and more like a home.
Our transformation GIF shows what the window looked like once upon a time.
The display area inside the window holds lots of our blue and white flea market finds.
The mirror could not sit perfectly flush against the stone wall, but luckily the gaps are not enough to detract from the overall look of the focal point.
As soon as the mirror was in place, we marveled at the way it changed the character of the house. Mirrors are like that — magic.
Another GIF transformation:
The mirror started out chippy-white, became green, then got the leaded glass effect.
The Pebeo (Pay-Bay-O) company's Vitrail (French for stained glass) lead tape worked as beautifully on a mirror as it did on window glass.
The window below was our first attempt at using the tape. It was a breeze, relatively speaking.
We used a pattern for the mirror as we did with the window, but it worked a bit differently.
We drew our pattern with a computer program that had a built-in grid. You can also draw a pattern using graph paper. More about that in Part 1 including the video. Here's a good transparent brand of graph paper:
The mirror, a design called 'Jolene,' was about $100 on Build.com. It's actually two mirrors meant to hang together.
We chose the Jolene mirror because the width would fit well over our small window and the arch was not overly tall for the style of our porch. We scoured the Internet for Jolene … she was sold out at three other online stores before we found it in stock at Build.
I don't usually get this much paint on my hands, but I hurried to get the project ready for photos!
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Making the patterns was more time consuming than putting the tape design on the mirror. We made three patterns. One rectangular for the bottom frames, and two for arches — one shorter, and taller. We flipped the patterns as needed.
The main thing about patterns is to make sure you have a good fit … and it's a bonus if you keep your design simple. A simple, classic design will enhance the realistic effect of your faux leaded glass. Our pattern was so simple, once we had the diamond place we could do the remainder of the design without the pattern.
At first we fumbled a bit, but the work quickly became very easy. The tape can be cut with scissors.
The tape is reposition-able, but it can leave very sticky residue on the glass so we made an effort to get each piece placed correctly the first time.
Once you cut the tape it curls a lot. Flatten it against a board for easy measuring. We cleaned our mirror first with a soft paint brush and a dry cloth, no chemicals at all as ours is an import and may have a coating that will fog.
Cut the length of tape you need and remove the backing. If the piece is very small, you can stick it to the blade of a craft knife first and use the knife instead of your hand to get the tape in the correction position before pressing it down.
Cut your patterns into puzzle pieces. Move or fold the pattern just enough that you can put the tape on the mirror. Notice that our pattern is taped to the frame so that it doesn't shift while we work.
The diamond in the center of our design gave us a good registration point. The rest of the design was based on its placement.
Burnish the tape to the mirror with the tool provided.
If you have to pull off the tape, it will take a bit of elbow grease to scrape away the adhesive.
But that's not a worry now, this mirror is ready to hang!
We found a crack in the stone wall in a good spot. We put a plastic anchor and steel hook in the crack and cemented it into place with Quikrete Vinyl Patch. You can mix what you need and save the rest for another project.
The next day, a bit of chalk paint made the concrete match the stone wall.
Wire will work very well for hanging most objects, but we used cotton rope which made it easier to adjust two mirrors on an uneven surface.
We cut thin wood by hand to use as a base against the bottom of the mirror to help hold it flat to the wall. We cut another piece of wood to glue between the mirrors to make it look like one piece.
Notice the thin wood across the base of the mirror shelf. We'd like to add small rails too, so that the shelves will hold objects more securely.
The shelf transfers the weight of the mirror to the brackets, then to the wall. Can you believe this window once had a crusty air conditioner that took almost two hours to remove?
Now this pretty display window is the first thing we see when we step on the back porch.
Flowers may come and go. The leaded glass effects will be a beautiful constant.
VIDEO LINK
See Part 1 of this Series
In this post, we did the first phase of the leaded glass effect on the small window.
See Part 2 of this Series
In this post, we add the shelves and explore the possibilities of using the window as a hutch.
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