{DIY} Convex Sunburst Mirror

Hello friends! Now that Babygirl’s Room is complete, I am free to move on to new projects. Well, I’ve been doing other projects all along, but always felt guilty about it since her room sat undone. No more!

DIY Sunburst Mirrors are all over the blogs, and all fabulous. I knew I’d create one, but hadn’t decided which style until I spotted this one at J and J Home! I instantly bookmarked it and knew it would be mine!


I followed her tutorial for the most part, but of course had to muck it up change things a little. The supplies are simple, 2 floral rings and 2 packs of wood shims. And a pile of glue sticks.

Start by placing a layer of shims around the perimeter of the rings, playing with the spacing to see what you like best. Then hot glue the thin end of each shim to both rings. (Shims are tapered at one end.) 

I was working in my craft room the corner of my bedroom, to be close to a plug and The Real Housewives of Orange County. For the next step, I got so distracted by those hot messes that I forgot to place the next layer of shims closer to the middle.

I guess this would have been fine, but I wanted a lot of depth to my mirror, so each layer needed to be shorter than the one below it. And if you’re questioning how strong hot glue will hold this project…um, I’m here to vouch for it.

So I ripped off that layer of shims, then glued them again closer to the middle so the ends wouldn’t be even.

And again with another layer, just filling in the gaps as you work around the circle. Pause to watch Tamara throw wine in What’s-Her-Name’s face, and cross your fingers someone’s hair weave comes off.

I decided I wanted to add some style to my backyard and hang it out there. Which meant I needed an acrylic mirror, and I also had my sights set on a convex one. You wouldn’t think it, but those are pretty hard to find. I finally settled on this mirror, intended for security purposes. It came with a fair amount of hardware mounted on the back (TWSS), but Mr. Sugarplum easily dismantled it and I glued the mirror to the front of the frame with Gorilla Glue Epoxy. After 24-hours of books sitting on top of it, up she went!

I didn’t add any hooks to the back, it hangs directly on a large nail from the floral ring. I love how the convex mirror adds more dimension to it. And I don’t have to worry about it shattering outside. Although, we’ve had several nights of thunderstorms, and days of high-temps, and it hasn’t budged.

It was tough to not spray paint it a vibrant color, but for now I love the natural wood. And it complements our new fence.