Vancouver Vacation: Shopping heaven at HomeSense

Shopping for home decor has got to be my favorite (next to clothes of course). And during our trip to Vancouver Canada, I stumbled upon a motherload of fabulous finds at HomeSense!

DIY: Sunburst Mirror Makeover

Remember this sunburst mirror I made out of wood shims? Well, I decided to give it to my sister who redecorated her room (actually, it was my old room when hubby and I still lived at my mom's house). She didn't like the natural wood finish since it didn't go with the new paint colors and furniture, so we decided to make it silver. :)

time for a makeover!

We just used a couple of coats of spray paint and the whole thing was done in about 15 minutes.

used masking tape to cover the mirror while painting

Here's the BEFORE and AFTER look. From my living room to it's new home in the bedroom.

If you noticed the reflection in the mirror, the opposite wall is painted with gray and white stripes which we also DIY'd. :p

Doesn't the silver look so much better with the purple background and black furniture? I think it's the perfect accent piece for the room. :)

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

I've always loved how a mirror can bring a huge statement to a room, and also open it up at the same time. I've always been a fan of the sunburst design (see my DIY mirrors HERE & HERE) but I've also been loving the vintage, ornate look as well. Here's some gorgeous ones I'm totally smitten with!

Modern Spaces by Atlanta Interior Designers & Decorators decordemon

Contemporary Dining Room

Eclectic Mirrors

Spaces by Los Angeles Interior Designers & Decorators Vanessa De Vargas

Spaces by Los Angeles Interior Designers & Decorators Vanessa De Vargas

Eclectic Bathroom by Star Media and Bloggers Simply Grove

Eclectic Bathroom by Sacramento Interior Designers & Decorators Kerrie L. Kelly

I especially love it when the mirrors are painted in a bold, bright color. And who says you can only put an accent mirror in the living or dining room? It works great in the bathroom too! :)

*all photos from Houzz.com

DIY: Wood Shim Sunburst Mirror

I have been obsessed with sunburst mirrors for the longest time and have actually made some DIY versions here, here, and here. Now, I can add another one to my collection! :)

It all started when I came across this wooden sunburst mirror tutorial that I instantly fell in love with. It was made from paint sticks, which apparently you can get for free in the States. Anyway, I started searching for more DIY sunburst mirrors, which led me to discover so many other versions like this one made of wood shims. It was the first time I had heard of wood shims and I had no idea where to find them here in Manila. So when my in-laws went to the States, I added that to my list of bilins! ;p

each pack has 42 sticks and are 15" long

wood shims are also very lightweight and are tapered at the end

Anyway, you need a base for the sticks, so luckily there was this piece of wood at my mom's house which I used. If you notice, I made a sort of grid to act as my guide when I glued on my shims.

I also attached my picture hanger at the back before I started anything since it would be harder to nail it on when the sticks were in place.

Anyway, I lightly sanded the wood shims first just to get them all nice and smooth. After I was happy with the position of the sticks, I then started hot gluing the first layer of rays, with the thin end of the shims in the middle...

Then added the next layer in between the gaps...

Then finally my last layer, which I placed closer to the center so that they'd look shorter than the outer rays...

I then hot glued a 7" mirror in the center...

Then used Mighty Bond to attach a 7" embroidery hoop (which I got from Dreams in Glorietta 5) on top of the mirror...

I used 48 wood shims in all and the total size of the whole thing was 3ft! I was on the fence about painting it since I really love the natural wood effect so I left it alone for now. I took down my other DIY sunburst mirror made from poster board in our living room and hung this new baby in its place. Although it doesn't seem to pop as much with the orange wall behind it (or maybe it's just the lighting) but I'll give it some time until I move it to the bedroom in the future. Oh, and the whole thing wasn't as heavy as I expected since I hung it on an adhesive picture hook (which holds up to 4 lbs.) and it seems stable enough. Hopefully, it doesn't come crashing down anytime soon, fingers crossed!

I still have a pack and a half of shims left over, so I can definitely make another mirror. Maybe this time, I'll paint it gold or even a fun, bright color. :)

New mirror in our foyer area

Remember my post a few months back about our entryway / foyer area? It was a work in progress then, and what I really wanted was to get a full length mirror to make the space look bigger and less bare. Well, I've finally bought my mirror and here's what it looks like mounted on the wall:

It took me a while to find a frame I really liked since most of the mirrors that I saw were in a dark wood finish. So when I saw this gold frame with a kind of vintage feel, it was love at first sight! And of course it was on sale too, so double yey! =)

Anyway, here's a BEFORE shot of the entryway without the mirror. See how bare and lonely the space looks?

And here's the AFTER shot. Look what a difference it makes. I love how it totally opens up the space with the reflection of the living room (and notice how I'd already changed the curtains from my post here? looks so much better now).

The best part about putting the mirror here? I can totally check myself and how my outfit looks before heading out the door! ;p

DIY Sunburst Mirror (made from poster board)

I really am addicted to sunburst mirror projects lately. The first 2 I did (here and here) were smaller and more suited for a kids room. This time, I wanted something I could use for our living room wall which had been staring blankly at me for the longest time already. I had been contemplating buying a painting but when I saw the prices, I figured I could just DIY a little something for now.

There are actually so many DIY activities you can do just by searching online. I have a number already saved in Pinterest but what caught my eye to this project was the use of plain old poster board to make the mirror. I wish I could take credit for this ingenious idea, but the whole thing came from this blog The Nester. It seemed easy enough (and cheap!) and by following her step by step instructions, I think I was able to duplicate it pretty well. ;p

You can just go to her page to see how she did it, but I'll also provide my own instructions since I modified some things a little bit. Plus, I want to show you guys just how easy it is to make!

Materials:
- poster board or cartolina - I ended up buying what's called bristol boards from National Bookstore at P21.50 per sheet. I bought about 10 sheets but ended up using just 5.
- round mirror - I used one with a 7" diameter
- embroidery hoop - (also 7") I bought this from Dreams in Glorietta 5 for P72
- glue gun
- scissors
- ruler
- pencil
- Mighty Bond
- sawtooth picture hanger - P59.75 (pack of 5 small hangers with nails) from Handyman
- adhesive picture hook - P89.75 (pack of 2) from Handyman

First, I made a template for the size of the ray I wanted. This became my guide for the rest of the rays. I believe each sheet fits 5 rays (according to the size I made). You have to fold the posterboard in half first before cutting the ray shape. This gives dimension to the rays and also ensures that the ray is equal on both sides. Take note that the bristol board is a little hard to fold since they're a bit thick. You have to do it carefully, otherwise the fold becomes all weird and crooked. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes really easy.

You'll need 24 rays for the entire mirror. I made the 8 rays nearest to the front a bit smaller to add depth to the entire thing.

Then, mark the back of the mirror dividing it equally into 8 sections. This will be your guide since you'll glue your rays in sets of 4.

Now the fun part! Then time to start hot gluing. You really have to work quickly though before the glue dries up. Side note, I really hate it when the hot glue oozes out of the gun when you're not using it! Be sure you have scratch paper on the side so you won't make a mess on your floor or table. I was able to glue everything in about 15 minutes.

This is how the back looks after all the rays were glued into place. I was afraid it wouldn't hold, but hot glue really works!

Remember the embroidery hoop? Well, I just found the mirror to be too plain, so I attached the hoop on top of it using Mighty Bond. I just think it adds more dimension to the whole thing. If you find a round mirror with a frame already, then that would be perfect.

Now for the hanging part. Since I won't be able to hammer the sawtooth hanger with nails on the back of the mirror, I used trusty old Mighty Bond once more. Again, I was skeptical at first if it would hold, but it did the trick!

I used the remaining adhesive picture hook from Handyman which I used in my previous project. Just mark where you want your mirror to go and stick the hook on the wall. That easy!

And here is the finished product on my living room wall! Now, my wall doesn't look boring anymore. In fact, it looks amazing! Everyone who comes to the house always compliments it and they can't believe it when I say what's it made out of.

I am so happy with this new project because not only is it easy to make (you just need half a day or even less if you don't have little kids running around ;p), it's also cheap! I believe I spent just about P500 total compared to thousands of pesos if I bought something from a store. Plus, it just looks so good! So again, thank you to The Nester for this wonderful tutorial.

I have another mirror lying around the house, so you can be sure I have another project lined up for that. Stay tuned! =)

DIY Sunburst Wallart (version 2)

Here's another version of the sunburst wallart I did using corrugated paper. This time though, I used different colors and a mirror in the center instead of a cork pad.

For detailed instructions on how I made the rays, just check out my post here. Anyway, here are the materials:
- corrugated paper (P69.50 per pack at National Bookstore)
- pencil, ruler, scissors (to make the rays)
- masking tape
- glue gun
- mirror

I found this small round mirror at Daiso / Japan Home Centre for just P66. The diameter at 3.5" was just the perfect size.

Instead of overlapping the rays like I did last time, I just laid them all flat and placed them side by side. I did have some trouble though since the size of the rays didn't form a perfect circle. That's why I adjusted the sizing of the white rays (notice how they're thinner than the rest).

Once I was happy with the arrangement of the colors, I then taped all the rays together at the back.

 Then, just glue gun the mirror to the center...

And there you have it, a super cute and inexpensive sunburst mirror. This is so light you can just use heavy duty double sided tape to stick it to your wall. I still have to figure out where to put this though, maybe in my son's room once I get around to fixing it up? =)