How to Make a Faux Leather Mirror Using Mirror Tiles

Homemade mirrors add a touch of style to any home.

You can use small, mirrored tiles or broken pieces of mirror to make an interesting, attractive mirror to hang in your home. Affix the pieces of mirror to a wooden background that you've painted with a faux-leather finish, and your new mirror will rival anything you can buy in a pricey home decor store.

Things You'll Need

• Piece of wood large enough to make a suitable mirror background
• Oil-based primer
• Dark orange oil-based paint
• Wood glaze
• Dark brown oil-based paint
• Newspaper
• Polyurethane finish
• Mirrored tiles or pieces of broken mirror
• Glue
• Hanging hardware

Instructions

1. Cut your wooden mirror backing into the shape that you want using a jigsaw. You could make a heart, a circle, a star, an oval or a rectangle. You could also buy a cut piece of wood that is ready to work with and is already in the shape you desire.

2. Use an oil-based primer to prepare the wood for painting. Allow it to dry completely.

3. Apply an undercoat of oil-based paint in a dark orange or light brown color. Allow it to dry.

4. Mix a topcoat using three parts of the wood glaze and one part of the dark brown oil-based paint. Brush it onto your piece of wood. Don't skimp on coverage.

5. Take a page of newspaper and lay it flat on the wood's surface. Use the palm of your hand to rub the paper across the surface of the glaze. Change the paper's orientation from time to time to keep a pattern from forming. Switch out the paper for a fresh piece as needed. Allow the glaze to dry. It will have a cracked, leathery look.

6. Apply a coat of polyurethane to seal the faux finish. Allow the protective coat to dry.

7. Arrange your mirrored tiles on top of the faux finish, leaving spaces to allow the finish to show through. Find a pattern that pleases you and then glue each tile or mirror piece into place using a strong glue that bonds wood to glass.

8. Allow the glue to dry. Attach mirror or picture frame hanging hardware to the back of the according to package instructions.

References

• Home and Garden Television: Faux Leather Finish
• Craft Bits: Recycled Mirror