BrittanyMakes

I have a new crush…and he’s pretty hot, I’m not gonna lie.  He let’s me look at him all day long.  He’s dirty and rustic, and talks with an English accent…

His name is Jack, and he originally came from Ikea.

I bought Jack, the mirror, from Ikea nearly 2 years ago.  I never displayed him on a wall.  He was too big and black and boring, and at one point I was actually going to get rid of him.  You can also say I was too lazy to bust out the stud finder… Well, something inspired me last week and I was itching to transform this drab mirror into greatness – to distress him as a British flag.  Brilliant!

I wanted the lines to be neat-ish.  First, I printed out a Union Jack flag, took my pencil and ruler and drew out a basic grid.  Next, I measured and taped off the flag’s red cross.

I began to tape off the diagonal white lines, but then decided against it as the bevels in the frame caused the tape to stick all janky.  I hand painted the white stripes, followed with red, then blue.

Once the paint dried, I took a fine paint brush and cleaned up the lines.  I let the entire thing dry overnight before distressing. The distressing step was easy.  I took a sanding sponge, and quickly sanded the entire frame, exposing the original wood beneath the paint.

I cleaned up the dust with a damp cloth, then applied dark wax to protect the frame.  I love how the dark wax adds an old world charm to the mirror.

Gorgeous close ups…

So rustic and delicious…

I leaned Jack against the wall, on top of my sister’s old dresser.  (I’m crossing my fingers she let’s me have this dresser when we all move out!) Oh, and feel free to ignore the recess light.  Not the best photo accessory…

My BF asked why I didn’t paint the Italian flag.  He’s too cute.