This tutorial has a lot of small steps, but none of them are very tricky, and the end result is a unique and quite adorable little hand or pocket mirror. You could also adapt this technique to larger bottle and mirror sizes, the process is the same. Let’s get started!
Materials needed:
Small bottles (I’m using little glass Shasta Bottles)
Round craft mirror, in this case 3″
fiber paper
scissors
fusible glass paint, I’m using light and dark blue
kiln
Glue, I prefer Locktite Extreme Glue
Mica Stars or flakes (optional)
Step 1. Peel and wash bottle and set aside to dry. While the bottles are drying, continue on to step 2.
Step 2. Cut fiber paper circles the same size and thickness as your craft mirror. My mirror is 3″. Depending on the thickness of your fiber paper, this may take more than one layer. To determine the size of mirror you need, measure the circumference of your bottle and divide in half. You mirror diameter must be less than this number.
Step 3: Paint the stripes. Mix your fusible paint thoroughly and then carefully drip a little paint into the mouth of the bottle and tip bottle slowly to create a stripe the length of the bottle. Set aside to dry with the bottle level to keep the stripe from spreading. Warming the bottle slightly will make this process faster. The quantity of paint that you use will determine how wide your stripes are, and how long it takes to dry.
When the first stripe is dry, repeat with the second color, turning the bottle slightly to make the stripes are next to each other. Set aside bottle for second stripe to dry, and repeat, always making sure the wet paint stripe is at the bottom of the bottle. When you have a lot of stripes, you can measure the width of the stripes and compare it to the circumference of the bottle, it should be about half. In our case, the stripes are 4″ wide, and the bottle is 8.25″ around (circumference). We have enough stripes!
Step 4: Add mica stars or flakes (optional)
This is a chance to add some bling to the back of your mirror. We will fuse the bottle with the clear side up, so anything you put in the bottle on top of the paint will be visible. I’m adding some mica stars using long tweezers.
Step 5; Fuse the bottle.
Place the stack of fiber paper you cut in Step 1, topped with the folded shelf paper on your kiln shelf. The bottle will go right on top of the stack, centered. This is where your mirror will go, so consider the placement carefully. I’ve centered mine as well as I could. The fold in the shelf paper will line up with the long side of your bottle and keep it from rolling away or shifting during firing.
Step 6; Fire to a full fuse
Everyone has their own firing schedule for bottles, mine is a good starting point if you haven’t already honed the schedule to fit your kiln.
Step 7, Finishing it up
Your fused bottle should have a round flat impression on the shelf side that is the same size and depth as your mirror. Simply clean it and glue in the craft mirror from Step 2. I usually let the glue dry overnight. You can embellish your mirror with a hanging loop, or a fabric storage back. A larger version with an oval mirror could be a wall hanging.