Repurpose a Mirror (or Ugly Artwork) with Paper!

Did you know you can repurpose a mirror or ugly artwork with PAPER??

I have this ginormous mirror with a pretty ornate frame–it was all gold and gawdy and the mirror glass had definitely seen better days, but for some reason, I love it. I painted the frame white but the mirror always looked really rough. I had toyed with trying to find an image that I could blow up and put in the frame, but never got around to it.

I came across a blog post by my friend Jeannette who blogs at “Snazzy Little Things” that absolutely blew me away! She had taken framed artwork and “covered” the artwork with paper that looked like pallet wood. It was gorgeous and the moment I saw it I knew where I could use the technique in my house. It was the perfect solution to my ugly mirror problem!

Now, just an FYI–the mirror in my frame was exceptionally heavy-like over 50 lbs and I have always had a fear that it would pull the hanger out of the wall and fall on someone. We papered the mirror, hung it up and then, shortly before I wrote this post, it did just that!! Thankfully it kind of slid down the wall, onto the couch seat and down onto the the floor! The mirror didn’t break (whew) but at that point we decided to remove the mirror and replace it with lightweight lauan plywood. If you have an empty frame the lauan plywood would be a great option too. Then we applied the paper and hung her up again! It’s such a simple project and you get so much paper on the roll that you can do a number of projects with it.

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Supplies Needed to Repurpose a Mirror with PAPER

Fadeless Designs Weathered Wood paper.

Elmer’s Repositionable Mounting Spray Adhesive

X-acto Knife or Straight Razor (for trimming the paper)

Now, if you are covering an existing piece of artwork or a mirror, you don’t have to remove it from the frame. We removed the mirror due to the weight of it and replaced it with the wood, so it just made sense to “paper” the wood before placing it in the frame in this case.

The paper is actually 48″ wide so you definitely have room to play with positioning. I unrolled the paper and draped it over the wood, allowing an extra couple inches all the way around. Center it up and made sure it’s straight. You can put a book or something heavy on one end of the paper or use clamps to hold it in place. Roll the paper back about half way and, following the glue instructions, spray the surface of the mirror/artwork with the glue.

The beauty of the repositionable glue is that, if the placement is off, all you have to do is gently lift the paper and reposition it! So don’t panic if you don’t get it right the first time.

Using the palm of your hand to press the paper down–it is paper and if you use a tool or credit card it could tear. Working from the center out to the sides, gently press out any air bubbles-continue to spray and then press until you have covered the whole surface!

Once all of the paper is glued down, trim the edges with a straight razor or x-acto knife. Of course, if you are placing the paper over a mirror or artwork that is still in the frame, be sure to trim as close to the frame as possible.

Here’s ours all ready to be placed back in the frame!

There you have it our not-so-new, repurposed mirror and its done with paper! I’m loving this!

It’s so funny to watch the reaction of guests when they ask how we got the wood into the frame and I tell them it’s paper. They literally have to “touch” the paper because they can’t believe it isn’t real wood! Seriously! You can see how we made the candle lantern wall sconces with flower baskets and the wreath too!

A huge thank you to Jeanette from “Snazzy Little Things” for the inspiration!