Mirror Picture Frame

This is a craft that I made about 3 years ago,

but it is perfect to do on these last dreary days of winter!

For Christmas a few years ago, my sister, knowing my love for photography and crafting, gifted me something incredible - a book with over 30 projects to do with your pictures!

The book is titled Photocraft: Cool Things to Do with the Pictures You Love, by Caroline Herter, Laurie Frankel, and Laura Lovett.
While I absolutely love looking through this book, I am disappointed to admit that the Mirror Frame is the only project I've completed from it... I have a couple others started, and writing this now is pushing me to get those finished so I can share them!

This Mirror Frame is pretty simple and inexpensive (I found this mirror at the dollar store!). Keep in mind, however, that it is next to impossible to get the glass 100% clear. The photo I used here is one of mine that I had edited to look a little scratched and worn. I tried using another photo of mine with a beautiful sky full of white clouds, but no matter how I scrapped and cleaned the glass, it still made the clouds look dirty. This project is probably best used with dark or 'antiqued' photos.

Once you have your mirror and picture picked out, decide what shape and size you want to clear. The frame I used is about 8x10, so I printed a 5x7 of the photo.

Using a single-edge razor, scrape away the section of the mirror's black backing - this part takes a bit of arm strength. I put the mirror face-down on soft surface and really pushed into it with the razor, to the point I was afraid the glass might break, but it didn't!

You can make your edges rough, like I did; or make them nice a clean cut. I think the rough edges work a little better with the overall look.

And that's it - just tape your picture to the back and set it up for display!

I'd love to know how yours turns out! What size and shape did you make? Were you able to get the glass perfectly clear? If so, please share your secret with me!