How to Turn a Thrifted Picture Frame into a Mirror

Turn a thrifted picture frame into a mirror with this simple DIY project!

I love the look of vintage mirrors, but they’re hard to find, and when I do it’s really expensive!   Shopping at the thrift store a few weeks back I spotted two mirrors {which I bought!} and a large oval shaped picture frame.  I put a poll up in my stories on if I should get the picture frame and try to turn it into a mirror; and the majority of you voted yes!  So let’s learn how to turn a thrifted picture frame into a mirror, a vintage inspired one at that!

I kept putting this project off and honestly forget about it for awhile.   I didn’t know if this project would actually work.  But for a five dollar large thrifted picture frame, I decided to just go for it.  If I messed the glass up, that would be okay, and at least I’d still have the cool frame.  Which is really the only reason I bought the frame to begin with! 😉

On a sweltering hot day, I brought that thrifted frame outside and got to work on this project.  I honestly didn’t think this was going to work, because the spray was going on runny and each time it was looking worse! But I kept following the directions, even though the doubt had set in!

Stay with me here… because all that worry was for nothing… and you’re going to want to do turn a picture frame into a mirror.  Promise.  It actually did work and I love the effect the runny spray did to the mirror – in the end, the frame actually looks like an antique mirror that has aged through the decades.

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Vintage Inspired Mirror Supplies:

• An old picture frame
• Krylon Looking Glass Paint
• Painters Tape {Optional}
• Windex {Or any other glass cleaner}

How to Turn a Thrifted Picture Frame Into a Mirror:

1. Clean the glass frame with a glass cleaner.  Wipe the cleaner off the glass completely.
2. Take the glass out of the picture frame and lay it on a cardboard surface outside.  As you can see from the pictures above, I didn’t do that.  I should have done this step in the beginning – you’ll have to take the glass out of the frame anyway – so go ahead and do that!  I used painter’s tape around the frame, which ended up being a step I didn’t really need to do.
3. Vigorously shake the can well.  Lightly spray one coat of the Krylon Looking Glass Paint on the glass surface of the frame.  It is going to appear runny, and does not spray on like normal spray paint would.  Don’t worry- it’s supposed to look runny!
4. Let the first coat dry for one minute, then spray a second coat of the glass spray on.
5. You will repeat this step FIVE times.  Remember to let it set for one minute in between each coat!
6. Let the glass spray dry completely.  I let mine dry overnight.
7. At this point, the painted side of the glass will appear slightly dull.  Turn the glass over because the back side of the glass is what will resemble the mirror.  This is the point where we took the glass out of the thrifted frame.  We had to use a cutting knife to pull out all of the staples to even get the frame open.
8. Place the mirror-like side to the front of the frame and Ta-Dah!!  You have a vintage inspired mirror to use in your decor!

Krylon Looking Glass Paint Tips:

• Where to find: Any craft store should have it – I bought mine at Michael’s with a coupon.  Or you can find it on Amazon, and it’s on sale right now!
• Applying the glass paint: The glass paint is going to spray on runny – don’t wipe it off!  Keep spraying the glass paint and follow the directions above.  It will dry to create this glass like appearance on the opposite side that you have sprayed to resemble a mirror.
• The side you have applied the glass paint is going to appear dull.  The back of the glass is what will show the mirror effect.

What do y’all think of this DIY?  I love how the mirror turned out! Stay tuned because I will be sharing the full reveal of this DIY mirror and the other mirrors next week!  The runny splotches during the process helped to create this gorgeous look and truly looks like an old mirror.  This project just goes to show that sometimes things aren’t always as they seem.  While something may seem dull or ugly for a moment, behind that doubt there’s something beautiful waiting to shine.  Wow, that got deep for a second! 😉

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