Framing My Bathroom Mirror

It's finished! I removed the tape today, and the molding is nicely adhered to the mirror. It really changes the feel to the room. Makes the counter seem higher, and a finished appearance to the mirror. Why did I wait so long to do this project?? It was SO easy. I think I might do the lower level bathroom, but with narrower molding (it's a small room).

I did some rug hooking this afternoon, but not at the group. I went to the location where I was told they meet, but the house was empty and no cars in sight. ???? So, a trip to the grocery store and home to work on my own.

Still one more day off work tomorrow for me!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Weekend Warrior

I'm a weekend warrior, or at least a weekend warrior according to Home Depot. I have a 5 day weekend due to parent teacher conferences plus President's Day. So, I've put the time off to good use. I've wanted to frame my bathroom mirror for the past year. So.... I started. This is the before photo. A large (as in 6 feet long) plain, boring mirror.

I also tackled the ceramic floor. I had sealed it with grout paint last year, but the sealer doesn't fix the cracking. Some of the tiles were loose underneath. So, I started to dig out the old grout on about 10 of the tiles.

Now back to the mirror and how to frame one. I got some 3 1/2" square corner blocks that were already primed and painted them white. I did put a coat of paint on the back side, as just a hint of the edge shows in the mirror. I started with the far corner block, as it is against the wall. Used some clear Liquid Nails and stuck it to the mirror. I then measured how long the fluted board (the cheap, already primed board) should be if I left 1/2 of the other block over the edge. It helps hide the edge of the mirror. I used a mitre box and saw, and cut 2 pieces the exact same size (one for the bottom, and one for the top). I glued the fluted molding in place and then put on the other bottom corner piece. Since the molding is 1/4" smaller than the corner block, I stuck a quarter and a dime under the molding to hold it up 1/8", so that it's centered on the corner piece.

I then cut the side pieces, so that the top block would go over the mirror by 1/2" or so. I glued these pieces on. I then glued on the far corner block, the one that goes against the wall. The long top piece was next, leaving the upper left corner piece for last. Some painter's tape is holding the pieces in place while the adhesive dries. I was surprised how easily the pieces adhered to the mirror. Since I used the clear Liquid Nails, so glue shows in the reflection.

Here is it drying. Can't wait to take the tape off tomorrow! The floor grout is also drying. I'm hoping my repair job will hold and that the grout won't crack.

I've worked a little on the rug this week, filling in the background. As I'm working on it, I'm finding I want to re-work certain outlining that I've done. I hope to get more done tomorrow afternoon, as I'm going to try a rug hooking group that I found.

I"m off to finally relax this evening!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Nothing.

Nothing. That's how much rug hooking I accomplished this week ~ nothing. Not that having 4 kids that need to be places has anything to do with it. Or the time spent grocery shopping, since 4 kids eat constantly. But, I did mange to try dyeing some wool today! I started with 1/2 yard of khaki/tan wool and some Jacquard dye that I found at Joann. I normally would have chosen more of a brick/barn red, but the darkest they had was crimson. So, I used the khaki wool to tone down the red a bit.

I didn't stir the pot at all, but just let it simmer. I wanted a heavily mottled look, and that's what I got. Since it's a solid wool, I wanted some variation in the color. I'm planning to use this as the background for the snowman rug.

I also threw in the dye pot some cream twill tape for the binding. It didn't come out red, but pink. Maybe because it's cotton and I didn't add salt? I'm not afraid to show my mistakes, as I like experimenting. Maybe I'll try a little more dye for the twill tape and see what happens.

Last week, my older kids went rock climbing with the Venture Crew at an indoor climbing place. It reminds me of all the climbing they did when they were toddlers (climbing out of their cribs, on top of tables, and one tried to get on top of the refrigerator!). I think I'll let them stick to the indoor places. :)

~*~ Laura ~*~