Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Fun and Spooky Halloween Mirror!

According to Wikipedia, "googly eyes" are also called "jiggly eyes."  What do you call them?

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All you'll need:
  • unfinished wood-framed mirror (available at craft stores; I used 12"x14")
  • black paint
  • paintbrush
  • googly eyes (I used about 200, in assorted sizes and colors)
  • your trusty Mod Podge 
  • optional: Diamond Glaze dimensional adhesive
  • optional: other decorations or letters (I spelled "BOO")


Step 1: 
Take the mirror out of the frame.  If yours isn't removable, use painter's tape to protect it. 

Step 2:
Paint the entire frame black.  Don't worry about covering it perfectly, because most of it will be covered with googly eyes (jiggly eyes?! :)) anyway!

  
Step 3:
Given Step 4, this step may not be necessary.  But I gave my entire frame a light coat of Mod Podge.  Again, it doesn't have to be perfect because it will be covered with eyes.



Step 4:
Start gluing on those googlies! My approach was to use my paintbrush to cover a small section of the frame with a generous amount of Mod Podge, and then stick the eyes on.  I also added some chipboard letters at the top of the frame to spell "BOO"!

The Mod Podge will dry clear, so the excess in between is fine.  It will take quite awhile to attach all of those eyes!


I found one googly eye that was missing its googler! I decided to use it anyway. :) Can you spy it with your little eye?
 

Step 5:
I wasn't totally convinced that the Mod Podge would hold the eyes on forever, especially because some of them had concave-ish bottoms and weren't sticking easily.  So I decided to use Diamond Glaze dimensional adhesive in between the eyes.  I think this also gave the final product a fun look.  

Specifically, after the Mod Podge had dried, I just squeezed a little bit of Diamond Glaze in between all of the little eyeballs, being careful not to get any on the eyes themselves.


Step 6:
The Diamond Glaze should be left to dry for a few hours without moving or touching the project.  Once it's dry, reinsert the mirror and voila! Fun and spooky Halloween decor. :)