Step by Step Tutorial On Creating A Faux Gilded Antique French Mirror

Hello Fall, how I adore you.  Something about cool crisp air always awaken my creativity and you know once I start something, I can't stop.  For the last few weeks, I have been slowly working on Aurora's new big girl room.  The biggest project for her room probably have to be the plank wall.  Up to this point, I have painted or cut up pieces of furniture but never actually done anything BIG.  Now that I got that part out of the way, I am working on lots of little creative projects for the room.  If you know me then you will know how much I suck at making tutorials.  Well, here is my attempt at showing you how to transform a plain old thrift store mirror to your own antique gilded French mirror.

Here is a little sneak peek of Aurora's new room.  Would you believe me if I told you this gilded mirror started out like this?

I found it at my favorite antique shop, The Trading Post, over the weekend.  It has the shape I was looking for and already has beautiful details on top.  So find yourself a mirror with the shape and size you want.

Next, you will need appliques.  I love Efex appliques for their amazing details.  I can cut them and stretch them and change them into any shapes I want.  I wasn't very picky about how I wanted the mirror to look like so I just used whatever I had left over from other projects.

Next is the fun part of playing around with patterns.  You can use double sided tape to put the appliques on the frame.  That way you can change it as you go.

I rarely stick to the plan and always end up changing it anyway.  You will see in a bit what I mean.

Once you decided how you want the mirror to look like, you will need Contact Cement to adhere the appliques to the frame.  Simply follow the direction on the bottle and go to town.

So...like I was saying I never stick to the plan.  I end up changing the wreath in the middle with this simple applique.

After you finish adhering the appliques to the frame, paint the whole frame with whatever paint you have.  I don't even know if this part is really necessary since you are going to be gilding the whole frame anyway but this is just how I do it.

Once the paint is completely dry, use any kind of gilding wax to gild the frame.  I LOVE Rub 'n Buff.  For this piece I used their Antique Gold.

Here is the thing.  I find that without dark wax, any kind of gilding wax looks plastic.  You really need dark wax to bring out the details and to add depth to the piece.

Here I used Annie Sloan Dark Wax and be generous with it.  After you let the mirror sits for a day, you are golden.  With a little creativity, it can go from this...

  to this.

Details are everything.

Roses add a little romance.

Faded pink velvet chair adds a little character.

If you ask me, I think this girl got it good.

Now I am just waiting for B to finish creating a custom portrait for Aurora.  We have something really cool in mind for the room.  I really hope this tutorial will inspire you to create your own faux gilded French mirror.  Here is yours truly in the process of making the mirror.  I don't think I have ever shown you my workroom either.

Happy Creating, my friends.


Love,
Victoria


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