How to Make a Sunburst Mirror

Sunburst or starburst mirrors are enjoying a comeback as an eclectic interior design choice. Vintage sunburst mirrors can be pricey, fortunately you can make your own with a few craft supplies and a little ingenuity. Sunburst mirrors have small, circular mirrors surrounded by varying lengths of thin wood or metal, similar to a depiction of the sun’s rays. Make the rays with dowels, chopsticks or rolled-up strips of paper you can recycle from a magazine.

Things You'll Need

• 1/4-inch diameter dowels
• Measuring tape
• Saw
• 1/2-inch thick plywood
• 9-inch diameter mirror
• Pencil
• Jigsaw
• Spray paint
• Duct tape
• Felt
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• Mirror adhesive

Instructions

1. Cut four 16-inch long 1/4-inch diameter dowels. All of the dowels used in this sunburst mirror are 1/4 inch diameter. Cut eight 14-inch long dowels. Cut eight 12-inch long dowels. Cut four 10-inch long dowels.

2. Place the 9-inch mirror on top of a sheet of 1/2-inch diameter plywood. Trace the outline of the mirror onto the plywood. Cut the traced circle from the plywood.

3. Spray paint both sides of the circular plywood and all of the dowels the desired color of the rays on the sunburst mirror. Let the paint dry. Coat the wood with the spray paint as many times as needed for a smooth finish, letting each layer dry between coats.

4. Place the painted wood circle back side up on a flat surface. Place the four 16-inch long dowels at the north, south, east and west points of the wood circle. Tape 1/2 inch at the end of each dowel onto the back of the wood circle with strips of duct tape.

5. Tape one 14-inch long dowel on each side of each 16-inch long dowel with strips of duct tape. Tape 1/2 inch at the end of the dowels to the wood, making sure that the dowels extend evenly from the wood circle. Each 14-inch long dowel should be evenly spaced from the adjacent 16-inch long dowel.

6. Tape a 12-inch long dowel to the left and to the right of the 14-inch long dowels placed at the north point of the sunburst design. Evenly space the dowels from the adjacent dowels. Repeat this step with set of 14-inch long dowels on the sunburst circle.

7. Tape a 10-inch long dowel between each set of 12-inch long dowels around the circle. All of the dowels should be evenly spaced. Make adjustments as needed for even spacing.

8. Cut a piece of felt to fit on the backside of the wood circle, over the dowels. Glue the felt to the wood with viscous craft glue.

9. Flip the sunburst circle over so that it is face-up. Glue the mirror to the center of the wood circle with mirror adhesive. Allow the adhesive to dry.

References

• Thread Banger: How to Make a Sunburst Mirror out of Old Magazine Scraps

Resources

• Home by Sunset: Sunburst Mirror