We all know someone that is Harry Potter crazy, in our family, it is my Son’s girlfriend.  I was at a loss for gift ideas for her birthday one year and Harry Potter came to mind.

I chose a Harry Potter etched mirror because it is a useful item that she will use every day. By the end of this project, she had a few Harry Potter gifts because once I started one project I got another idea.

How to make a Harry Potter Etch Mirror

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Preparing the Mirror

The surface of the mirror needs to be cleaned before you start to remove any dirt and fingerprints because this will stop the vinyl from sticking to the surface. You can use a glass cleaner or alcohol cleaner. 

Finding and adding graphics

All the graphic for this project were purchased off Etsy.  I love Etsy because all graphics are available for downloading instantly.  Look out for bundles because you can get most of the images for the same price as one or two.  Add your SVG file to design space and select to cut them on vinyl.  You can use any cheap vinyl for this because it is only going to be used as a stencil. The font for the Harry Potter wording was downloaded for dafont. 

Cutting the graphics with a Cricut

Using a Cricut/Silhouette Cameo vinyl cutter or similar machine to cut out all the designs.  Using weeding tools remove all the excess vinyl that you don’t want on the mirror.

Transfer the images

Using transfer tape, pre-used tape works better because it is not as sticky.  Use a  scraper to smooth the transfer tape over the image and remove the bubbles.  Place the images where you would like it then using the scraper rub the transfer tape until the image stays on the mirror.  Pay close attention for any air bubbles around the inside edge because this will allow etching cream to bleed out of the stencil. If the cream bleeds it will ruin your design.

Add etching cream to the mirror

It is a good idea to have some excess vinyl around the images because the etching cream can run.  I added tape which also works well. Using a small brush add a generous amount of etching cream to the inside of the vinyl. Don’t be too concerned about wastage all the etching cream can be reused again. You can use a credit card to smooth out the etching cream on a large image. 

You need to leave the etching cream on the surface for 15 minutes to do its job. After 15 minutes using a  paintbrush and remove all the etching cream and put it back into the bottle.  Then using paper towels and water, wash off any excess etching cream.

Remove the vinyl from the mirror

Remove the vinyl from the mirror, I use an X-Acto knife to lift the edges. Once all the vinyl is removed you can clean the mirror with windex and a clean cloth.

The projects you can do with these Cricut machines is incredible, here are a few of mine.  

If you don’t want to etch the mirror here is an alternative option. I cut the designs using Oracle 651 vinyl and transferred them directly onto the mirror using transfer tape. 

More Harry Potter ideas using a Cricut

My Son’s girlfriend is a school teacher, so I made gifts that were related to a school theme.  I used permanent vinyl for these two. 

They are also going to America and will be going to Harry Potter World in Orlando.  So her last item was a Harry Potter wallet, for this one I used Iron-on vinyl.

Cricut project ideas

Elvis tribute guitar.

Memorial plaque for a loved one.

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