DIY - Sun Shaped Mirror

As Yash has grown older (now a few months over 8), I feel like I have a lot more time for myself now. He doesn't need me as much as he used to before. Not that he ever felt my need, I've always felt the need to be there for him. Now, I just find him more and more independent. With my new found time, I felt the urge to take up a home improvement project.

Disclaimer: This is not my usual rant on parenting or raising our brilliant son. This is purely a mom's attempt at home improvement. If you expect anything else, give up reading now and move on to some other parenting blog ;)

Taking inspiration from some Vastu and Feng Shui, I decided that we'd make a mirror for our living room. Vickram, my husband is a true son of the sun. So we settled for making a sun shaped mirror. Pinterest was my go to source for inspiration. Here is how we did it, all in pictures.

Materials:
Mirror (2 ft radius, circular)
Mirror adhesive tape (should be available where the mirrors are sold)
Cycle Spokes of three different sizes, 16 of each size (total of 48)
Gold spray paint
Hot glue
Small and medium mirrors
Masking tape
Newspapers
Geometry box (If  you are particular like me)

Step 1. We visited a local mirror store and asked for a mirror of 2ft. radius, cut in a circle. We next went to a hardware store to pick up the paint. From there we visited a cycle store to buy the spokes. We lay down the mirror on newspapers and covered the entire face of the mirror except for a one inch rim. We taped it down and got the spray paint out.

Step 2. We bought a piece of 8 mm plywood, in the same size as the mirror. We asked for a small hook to be attached so we could hang the mirror when finished. I was also excited to buy a geometry box. Even as a child, I've always loved using these tools. As soon as we got home, I whipped out my tools and sectioned the ply to accommodate the 48 spokes. Yash watched for a bit and then the call of playing with his friends in the outdoor pulled him away. Well, you can't have everything. 

Step 3. We started our work on the spokes. We sprayed it the same colour as the mirror. We first sprayed it while laying them down on some newspapers. Then realising our folly, we stuck them onto a piece of thermocol that was lying around. This proved much more effective and easier.

Step 4: Once the spokes were dry, we got on to sticking the little mirrors that we had picked up. The spokes turned out to be a great way to make the rays of the sun and the small heads of the spokes allowed us to be able to stick the mirrors with ease.

Step 5: All that was left to do was to assemble all the parts together. After ensuring that the paints were dry, we stuck the spokes on the ply board, as per the sections made earlier. Since we had three sizes of the spokes, we were able to make a pattern. We then stuck the adhesive tape (meant to stick mirrors) and also threw in some hot glue for extra measure of stickiness. We place the mirror carefully on top and let it dry. We placed some weight on the mirror in order to make it stick well.

This DIY project gave me immense satisfaction. I felt a sense of pride, being able to hang it up on the wall. The funny part - I made the mirror but needed the carpenter to drill a hole in the wall to be able to hang it! Irony of being self sufficient ;)

I may not find the time to make more stuff or find the inspiration for them, but I will surely walk tall knowing that I've shown our son that we can make stuff!

PS: I keep referring as 'we' in the blog as I couldn't have done it without the help of Vickram, my partner in crime :)