Mirror, Mirror....

"ummmm, it looks like a spider."



This from my husband when I unveiled my cool and trendy new
sunburst mirror made from sticks.
"I like the mantle the other way better." Well, who asked him anyway?




It all started last Saturday morning when we were "hiking." The kids were completely distracted with mud, snow, and sticks to be bothered to walk very quickly. They were bringing me handfuls of sticks and shoving them into my backpack. I looked around at the hundreds scattered on the forest floor and decided to join in. I knew I could find something to do with all this natural goodness.




3/4 of the way through the hike, we realized my pack was slightly open (Little Miss Someone didn't zip it when she finished) and I had been leaving a trail of perfect little sticks in my wake.






So, I had many fewer sticks than anticipated
when we finally got home and inventoried our booty.



I have a few stick projects floating around in my head, but this sunburst mirror was going to fit in the currently naked spot on my mantle just perfectly.


Materials
small round mirror
sticks
hot glue (or gorilla glue)
twine, jute, or ribbon (to hang the mirror)

1. I started by grabbing the first four sticks. I chose the longest, bulkiest sticks.
2. Assemble the rest around the mirror before starting to glue.
3. Hot glue the sticks to the front of the mirror, trying to keep them evenly spaced
4. I had to glue some sticks on the back to fill in the sunburst (like how messy and abundant the glue is?)
5. Glue the jute to the back of the mirror

So, this is not the most durable thing I have ever made. I am glad it is hanging somewhere where no one (i.e. little people) can get their hands on it, cause they could destroy it in 20 seconds.




I love the different colors and textures of the sticks






It goes so nicely with my book bundles and jute candlesticks.










Every time I glance at the mantle I feel serene and calm.
Which is no easy task when Dinosaur Train is blaring in the background, someone is pulling on my pants and screaming for juice, and the dog is whining to go out.