As a part of updating Greyson’s big boy room, we took down the blinds and replaced them with roman shades. The blinds had been installed for quite some time, but the way they were installed you couldn’t get the double-paned windows in or out. So, it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter in his room. We fixed that, but that left us with three sets of old blinds. They sparked a crazy idea… make a sunburst mirror. I’m happy to say that I love this little project. At just over $6 its a steal for how much of an impact it makes.
I’ll give you a step-by-step tutorial if you want to try it yourself.
1. Take the blinds down and cut all the threads out. Wash the blinds with warm soapy water and lay on a towel to dry.
2. Stack the blinds by two and make the stacks so that the blinds curve in on each other (it resembles a oval).
3. Experiment and see what you like. What worked well for me was 5 pairs (at pair being an oval from step 2) bunched together. Duct tape the bunch together into a fan. Keep doing that with all the blinds.
4. At this point, use three sets (like the above left picture) to create a larger fan. Duct tape all three together. Use bolt cutters to cut off the extra pieces beyond the duct tape. *The tighter you get the duct tape, the more the blinds look like a fan.
5. Add your mirror to see how many different sets of fans you will need. *At this point, I had already used the three sets of blinds that I had started with. We actually had a blue set that wasn’t being used in the basement, so I used those as well. Then, I realized that I needed one more set. I went to Habitat Restore and picked up another set for $1.50.
6. Using the mirror as a template, draw a circle on the plywood. Then use a jigsaw to cut the circle out.
7. Using a hot glue gun, start gluing all the pieces on to the plywood. *I used lots of hot glue to apply the pieces and then I came back after 20 min and wiggled each individual piece. If it wiggled then I added additional hot glue under that piece. Once I had all of the blind pieces attached, I gave it a few coats of white spray paint.
8. Attach the mirror on the top using hot glue. Then attach picture hangers on the back (directly on the plywood) to hang it on the wall.
I’m in love with the outcome of this project. Sunburst mirrors are all over Pinterest using wood shims and paint sticks (and I love all of those), but I really like the fact that I was able to come up with something that I had on hand. The blinds would have ended up in the trash, yet we now have a pretty cool decor item out of them.
You can use this tutorial to create your own (sticks, shims, painter sticks, blinds, etc.).
Cost breakdown:
4 Old sets of Blinds (already owned) $0
1 old set of blinds (Habitat Restore) $1.50
Can of Spray Paint $3.20
Plywood (already owned)
Hot glue (already owned)
Mirror (JoAnn’s) $1.60
Total $6.30
Linking up to:
Work it Wednesday at the Happy Housie
Julia@Cuckoo4Design says
January 3, 2014 at 6:10 amWhat an awesome idea! Love it and pinned!
Ashley Mayes says
January 3, 2014 at 2:14 pmThanks Julia!
Charlotte @couldntkeepit2myself says
January 3, 2014 at 9:21 amThis really turned out so neat! Love it above the bed too. Now I’m kind of sad about all the old blinds I know I’ve thrown away!
Ashley Mayes says
January 3, 2014 at 2:15 pmI know, right? Although, I know I’ve seen blinds for free at garage sales.
Bobbie Larsen says
September 18, 2017 at 1:07 pmYou must have to stagger the pieces before cutting? I didn’t read that in the post
Ashley Mayes says
September 20, 2017 at 8:17 amyes! Stagger and group together.
Carrie says
January 6, 2014 at 7:53 pmThis is genius! What a great use for old blinds!
Ashley Mayes says
January 7, 2014 at 7:48 amThanks Carrie!
Christi Clark Chambers says
January 9, 2014 at 12:26 pmSo cool! I’ve been wanting to try one…
Ashley Mayes says
January 9, 2014 at 7:34 pmThanks Christi! I completely forgot about meeting up with you over New Years! Sometime soon, k?
Maria says
January 9, 2014 at 8:26 pmOh wow this is so clever!!!! The mirror looks beautiful, you did an awesome job with it! So creative!!!!
Ashley Mayes says
January 10, 2014 at 7:48 amThanks Maria!
courtney says
January 17, 2014 at 6:50 pmOh my gosh, I LOVE this idea! My blogging friends and I just started a lifestyle link party and think you would be the perfect match for it, check it out here!http://www.frysauceandgrits.com/2014/01/beyoutiful-link-up-party-3.html
Ashley Mayes says
January 18, 2014 at 7:54 amThanks Courtney! I’ll stop by to check it out. Thanks again!
Allie says
January 17, 2014 at 8:51 pmWow, so genius, and it looks amazing. Good job!
Ashley Mayes says
January 18, 2014 at 7:54 amThanks Allie!
Carrie This Home says
January 27, 2014 at 1:21 pmI never would have guessed this was made out of an old set of blinds! It turned out fabulous! I would LOVE it if you’d link this up to the Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop. Our readers love to see frugal and awesome transformations like this!
Ashley Mayes says
January 27, 2014 at 1:33 pmThanks Carrie! Coming over now. =)
Carrie This Home says
January 31, 2014 at 9:39 amThanks so much Ashley! I’ll be featuring this post when our next party goes live Sunday night at 8PM Central time. Thanks so much for joining us!
Ashley Mayes says
January 31, 2014 at 1:58 pmThanks Carrie!
Victor says
August 13, 2016 at 7:10 pmMagic & beautiful! Sunburst mirrors are stunning and worth any prize!
Ashley Mayes says
September 20, 2017 at 8:16 amand this one was super cheap! Thanks Victor.
Virginia (Ginna) says
October 17, 2018 at 9:29 amAshley this is a great idea!!! I totally love it!! I’m not crafty at all and this site really helps me with tons of ideas!! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Ginna
Ashley Mayes says
October 17, 2018 at 10:45 amThanks Ginna! I’m not super crafty either! ha! If I can make a sunburst mirror then you definitely can too. =)