I looked at many pieces of art and canvas and apart from them being expensive,
they all looked similar.
...So I decided to create my own!

A while ago I found a circle mirror in the clearance section of my local craft store (for only $5.00) and purchased it and at the time thought of all the great ideas I could use it for....and then I promptly stored in my garage (...and forgot all about it).

So while I looked around my home to add a little sparkle to my lounge room
(this is called 'shopping your home') I came across the mirror.
So, with the mirror under my arm,
I went hunting to find the bits I needed to create a gorgeous sunburst mirror.

The tip to creating this DIY sunburst mirror was using takeaway chopsticks!!
Yes, it's true!
Chopsticks!!

I am not ashamed to say that chopsticks in my home are not just for eating with....
...but are the best crafting tools.


Have a look at the ways I used these lovely little sticks...
(click on the picture if you would like to know more) 

...as paint stirrers

...and when making the swirls in GF Cinnamon and Honey Swirl Muffins!

And now as decoration in my T.V room!

How to make a Sunburst Mirror with Chopsticks!!

1. Gather the chopsticks and have a practice with a design.
The takeaway chopsticks come as a double (two chopsticks joined together) and you break them apart.
I kept some as double chopsticks and I split the others into single ones.

2. Take the mirror out of the frame (so it doesn't get spray painted). If your mirror doesn't come out of the frame, then cover with a round piece of newspaper and seal with painter's tape).

3. Lay the chopsticks and the mirror frame on cardboard, outside and give them a good spray of spray paint.
I jiggled the cardboard straight after spray painting, so the chopsticks wouldn't stick to the cardboard.  


Repeat for the other side. You do need to make sure you do paint the sides of each chopstick too, as this will be visible when it is hanging on the wall. 


4.  After it is dry, play around with your chopsticks and mirror to create your pattern.
On the reverse side of the mirror, I put pencil marks to show where the double chopsticks will go and how far in I had to glue them. (You don't want to skip this part 🙂 


5. Using a hot glue gun, glue the chopsticks in place.
(I then went ahead and made sure every stick had plenty of glue....you know in case chopsticks started falling off while we were watching T.V... 😉 

6. Once it was dry, I added a picture hook and hung in on the wall and went....Ohhhh!! ...it does look good!!

DIY Sunburst Mirror - It turned out gorgeous, didn't cost much and better than I thought it would be...got to love that!! 🙂