DIY Optical Illusion Mirror!
This project was inspired by Melissa J. Will!!
She's the original creator of the "DIY Optical Garden Mirror" project and you should definitely check out her original 'How To' and lovely website here:
https://empressofdirt.net/optical-illusion-garden-mirror/
My wife Mariko saw a picture of Melissa's mirror on Pinterest and HAD to make one for herself. 
Here's the finished mirror.
We found all of the supplies at the dollar store.
For the build you'll need:
- mirror
- wood for the frame (fat for the frame and thinner for the open window)
- hinges
- knob
- brackets (didn't use these)
- staple gun
- wood glue or super glue
All of the supplies cost about $6!
This cheap mirror had a plastic frame attached to it, so we removed it.
Here's the frame. Make sure you buy wood thick enough for the staple gun. You don't want the staples popping out on the other side.
Mariko wood glued before she stapled. If you don't want to wait for the glue to dry, use a fast drying super glue.
Tape over the corners with painters tape so it dries together and then cut the wood for your window.
It should look like this.
When the glue has dried, use your staple gun on the back of your frame and window. You can also cover the staples with duct tape for extra strength since this side will face down.
Mariko LOVES Annie Sloan Chalk paint! It just recently made its way over here to Japan at about a billion dollars a thimble full and it's pretty much the only brand of chalk paint available in Japan.
This is Annie Sloan graphite, dry brushed with Annie Sloan original. You'll notice all of my recent posts are exclusively these two colors.
This is cheapo dollar store hardware that we dabbed with green milk paint. We didn't use a primer, but you totally can.
The mirror is super glued to the back of the frame. Hot glue didn't work for us!
The finished mirror!
This is the mirror flipped.
My wife and I love being so inspired by a project, it makes us want to try it right away! Melissa created something totally awesome and doable and I hope you check out her page to see what inspired us. 
Comments
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Very beautiful...I love looking at it. Very creative, but it is a bit confusing to figure out the entire plan. I will not try this, but if I was going to try, I'd probably get it figured out.
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Thank you! You can see the original made by Melissa over at
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Hi Mariko, you are a star. I really loved this too when I first saw it. Nice take on it. TFS
Frequently asked questions
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Very clever...
My question is same as Angel’s. You must need a pretty reflection for this to work??
I love đź’• this project. Truly an illusion.
How about, instead of a mirror, put a poster size picture of a garden, vase of flowers, an old barn.
what is the background of the mirrir on the face did you put a picture on it