With Halloween fast approaching everyone is on the lookout for new ideas to decorate there home. I wanted to try and make a unique Halloween mirror this year. Even though it is only one night many people like to make the most of it and either have a party or go trick or treating. I had this mirror at home which was pretty boring but I really loved the frame.

How to make a Halloween Mirror

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I started giving the frame a makeover when I came up with the idea of doing a  Halloween mirror.  Because Halloween is only for a few days I wanted to decorate the mirror in a way that could be easily washed off after Halloween.  So do not fear nothing added to this mirror is permanent.

Paint the frame

This was the mirror I started with, I had all intentions of painting it black and adding the bronze wax paste from the start. I have just discovered this look and I just love it.   I took the mirror apart and painted the frame with black gesso. Because the frame was plastic gesso would act as a primer for the paint. After adding the second coat I decided not to paint the frame with black acrylic paint because the gesso had such good coverage.

Adding the bronze wax Paste

The wax paste works so well on raised carved detail. This method is so simple to do all you need is your finger and the wax paste.   Dip your finger in the bronze wax paste, you only need the smallest amount and rub your finger over the surface areas of the mirror. The look you are going for is the black staying untouched by the bronze in the nooks and crannies. It is very difficult to mess this technique up and if you do find a way, you wash the wax off or add another coat of gesso and start again.  This became my favourite mixed media technique after my Game of thrones Lamp turned out so stunning. 

Add the image

No Halloween mirror would be complete without some scary elements added to it. I remembered all the old horror movies where someone was walking through a haunted house and they always see a ghost in the mirror. I looked online for free Halloween images that I could use and found this one on Pixabay. To transfer the image I used waterslide paper. 

For those who do not know what waterslide paper is, It is used to transfer images perfectly every time. There are other methods you can use.  Here are a few I have used over the last few years with the pro and cons of using each. 
All you need for this method of image transfer is an inkjet printer. Load the paper as you would regular paper and print using photo quality. Don’t touch the surface after printing because the ink will smudge. 

Seal the image

The image now needs to be seal so that it can be transferred.  I use an acrylic spray to seal my images,  I added 2 coats allowing each one to dry first.  Once the acrylic spray is dry I cut around the image as close as possible to the edge of the image. Because I am adding the image to a mirror the clear background will show up in the reflection.

Transferring the image

Transferring the image is the best part of this method.  There is no waiting, rubbing or mess.  The image transfers in seconds.  Prepare the mirror first by adding some water to the surface. This will allow you to move the image around while positioning. 

Add some water to the sink, and put the paper into the water image side up.  The paper will curl up instantly, use your hand to flatten it out so it is all under the water.  This step took 15 seconds to work.  The backing paper becomes wet and releases the image.  

The image is now ready to be transferred to the mirror. Put a finger on the top film and slowly pull the backing paper out. The water on the mirror will help you move the image around until you are happy with the position.  Using a soft towel or cloth GENTLY smooth out the image which will also remove the excess water.  Remove any water bubbles under the film. Once this step is complete it will be difficult to move the image again, so make sure you are happy with the position first.

Once the image is dry it will look like this. This image worked great for this project because the mirror reflected the image at certain angles which give it an eerie appearance.

Adding Halloween Elements

To add so character to the Halloween mirror I pained around the outside with gesso, to take the clean look away.  I bought some spiders from a budget store after last year and ordered some skeleton hands for the outside of the frame.  I painted them all black with gesso and added some colour using the wax paste.  I glued them all in place using a hot glue gun for easy removal after Halloween. I used a heat gun to bend the hands into shape. 

And that is my Halloween mirror complete.  The great part about this project is you can add any image and every year you can change the design. The mirror will hang by the doorbell a Halloween night ready for the trick or treaters.

I was so hard to take pictures of this mirror and the pictures don’t do it justice.  Trying to get photographs without having a rubbish background is so hard.

Tutorial for the Halloween Bottles

More Halloween projects

ThesesHalloween figures would look great on any table and they are so easy to make.

This LED shadow box will look great on a porch next to your doorbell ready for your Halloween visitors.

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