"It's A Cinch" x 2 DIY's {Sisal Wrapped Vase and Painted Mirror}

Hello "It's A Cinch" par-tay folks!  Today I'm sharing two quickie projects that made my foyer a bit brighter and a bit more pulled together.  Perhaps you'll find a way to use these projects in your house too.

Project #1 - DIY Sisal wrapped vase
Project #2 - An Easy and effective way to protect glass when spray painting a mirror


Project #1
DIY Sisal Wrapped Vase
{yes, those are fake flowers, please don't judge me, I just thought an empty vase looked even worse than fake flowers, so I popped these in ... actually like the orange & turquoise combo though}

{DIY Sisal-wrapped recycled vase}

Can you believe this vase has 65 linear feet of sisal wrapped around it!  Took 5 super large glue sticks too.  And a few slightly burned fingertips.  And about 60 minutes.

Here's what I started with:

The curvy shape of the vase required I apply hot glue frequently and in large dabs.  A straight-side item would be easier to wrap and potentially would only need glue at the beginning and end of the wrap {top and bottom of the vase}.  Oh well, I think this curvy piece has more interesting lines.  I mean, curves are good, right ladies!  Oh, and the vase is many years old, you can see it was originally vibrant blue (look at the interior) then sprayed silver for the holidays one year, so this is its third lease on life.  Third time is the charm!

So I started with a 100 linear foot package of sisal (purchased at Lowes in the rope aisle for less than $7),  a glue gun, and lots of super-big glue sticks.

Start at the top of your piece so you have control over the finished edge on top.  I didn't want an obvious starting point on the top of the vase, so I began by starting with a 2 inch section of sisal vertically down from the top edge, ran the sisal up to the top edge, then wrapped and secured the top edge fully before I began working my way down {toward the bottom} the side of the vase. There's a slight bump from the 2 inches of sisal but it is hardly noticeable and will be facing towards the wall anyway.

When you arrive at the bottom you can just tuck the end of the sisal between the last two rows.  It's the bottom.  No one will see it.  No special trick or technique needed here :)

Project #2

Spray Painting a Mirror and Tip for Protecting the Glass

I decided to spray paint my mirror because I couldn't remove the back of the mirror (it was made way back in the day when furniture was assembled with the expectation that it wouldn't be disassembled ... this is part of my Bali Hai by Henry Link bedroom furniture from my "youth" ... I've already painted the Bachelor Chest a Peacock Blue and have that in my Dining Room, you can see that here and here) so I had to protect the mirror glass from the paint.  Of course I taped as close as possible around the edge of the mirror glass; I used Frog Tape (the green stuff) because I've never had one drop of paint sneak under that brand of tape.  Just sayin'.  

My mirror painting tip is how to cover the large expanse of mirror glass after the edges are taped.  Newspaper or other rip'able material?  No way.  One of my new fav DIY tricks is using Contact Paper {so many uses, this is just one}.  I purchased a roll of basic white contact paper at Tar-Jay for less than $6 and I've already used it in different ways for three projects and still have tons left-over.  Anyway, I applied the contact paper over the glass and the edge of the Frog Tape ... that's what the large white square is in the above photo ... no way any paint is getting on that glass.  And I don't have to worry that there's a tear in the covering that I didn't see than leaves me with a mess to clean up.  

Spray painting is now done .... score with a razor around the edges of the frame and the tape ...

... then pull off the protective covering and hang that mirror. Very satisfying.  No sitting and scraping off paint with a razor blade. 

{Bali Hai by Henry Link mirror repainted in a Satin-gloss White}

So my foyer looks a bit fresher and hopefully this will motivate me to get on with painting the crown moulding ... and chair rail ... and wainscoting ... will it ever stop!!!

I'm linking up to the "It's A Cinch" party because my resurfacing (Sisal Wrap and Mirror Painting) DIY's really were a cinch and I hope you find my tips helpful :)  Thanks for checking out this post and I do hope you'll visit again ... Pin, Follow or bookmark {please} so you can find us.   I'm also on Pinterest and for grins you can follow me here.  Need an invite to join Pinterest? ... I have a few invites left, so email me and I'll be glad to share.

So what do you think about the resurfaced vase and mirror?

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