Faux window pt 2 and other news

Wow! It was a great birthday. Did you notice that nifty little banner up there? Isn’t it great? Jamie had a friend design that for my birthday gift. I was so surprised and thrilled when she “secretly” added it to my blog. I think it is perfect! Not to mention it looks just like me!  hahah  Jamie knows me so well, she always gives me the most thoughtful gifts. 

The response to my giveaway has been great! I told ya’ll it was going to be fantastic! I am unable to respond to all the wonderful comments, I  always read each and every one. Thanks, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

Okay, on with our regular scheduled post…

I drilled the holes in the corners where I had made the dots.

 

 

 

Okay, here is where ya’ll find out that I am not great at using a jigsaw.  :)   Let’s just say I was going for a very rustic look.

 

after cutting out all the innards, I put it on the table saw to cut the other side. I wanted it to be straight, since the “panes” weren’t turning out very straight.

 

I then clamped it and finished cutting out the outer parts. It was at this point that I realized that I was going too fast with the jigsaw. I slowed down, and these cuts were much more precise. So, my piece of advice about jigsaw cutting is this: slow and steady wins the race!

 

 

 

Because my cuts were on the “rough” side, I used my sander to smooth things out a little.

 

 

 

I have this mirror that I curb shopped picked up from Jamie.

 

I decided that I would like to have the mirror in the back of my faux window. I’ve only cut glass/mirror a few times.

 

I placed the window on the mirror and traced the outline. I then cut it larger than each of the outlines. To be honest it took several times. I finally realized that the board I was laying the mirror on had a tiny nail it it and it kept causing the mirror to break.  grrrr

 

Cutting mirror and glass is not at all very hard. It just takes practice. And believe you me, I got a lot of practice out of that one mirror. I had to find another mirror for the top 2 pieces. See how they don’t match the rest? The key is to not press too hard. You should not hear a ripping sound. If you cut it on the right side, then move it to the edge of the table, and gently “snap” it, it will give you a nice clean break, even on the curved parts.

 

You know I’m a “use what you have” kind of girl. I did  not have a piece of lauan large enough, so I used two pieces. I made sure the seam of the boards was in the middle of one of the pieces of mirror, not at the seam of the mirrors.

 

 

I painted it in the living room (of course) because it was 38* outside!

I painted it with some free Glidden paint.

 

Before I attached the mirrors, I set it up on the mantel to see if I really wanted to put the mirrors in it.

I painted the lauan pieces.

I arranged the mirrors in the right places, and drew an outline.

I then used mirror mastic to glue the pieces on the lauan.

 

I used gorilla glue to attach the top to the lauan.

It’s been a VERY long day. I’m very tired. I do not have any final pics loaded to my computer. I will update this post later.   Please disregard any typos or silly grammatical errors. I will also fix those later.

I’m looking upon this faux window as a learning curve! I learned a lot while doing this project. I have more of this plywood door left, I plan to make another one when the weather warms.

gail

Edited: I added a final picture, it’s from my phone. I’m away from home visiting Jamie, so I am unable to take any more pictures at this time. I had taken this picture with my phone to show Jamie the finished product. You can see Matt Dillon in the reflection. His Aunt Missy is staying with  him and his little lady, Miss Kitty. Thanks Missy, you’re the best!

Linking to:

Susan's Met Monday

Kimba's DIY Day

Kimm's Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Becca's Show And Tell
Gina's Transformation Thursday
Becky's Under $100
Cindy's MI4M