Finally! The DIY Starburst Wreath is done!!! Finished. Finito. Fini.
Back in September I told you about a diy project I was working on that was similar to this one by Janell:
However since this project was going into our front hallway (the hallway is almost finished – watch for the total reveal with before and after shots soon), I didn’t want another mirror. If you remember, we already have plenty. One might think we are quite vain based on the number of mirrors we have in such a small space. Really, it’s because I love how the light bounces around off of the mirrors and makes the whole space seem brighter.
Anyway, for my take on the starburst, I decided to just make a wreath of sorts. A really big one. A trip to Dollarama yielded some unfinished wooden dowels. And Michaels answered my question of what to hot glue the dowels to with a large floral craft wreath.
Initially I laid out the dowels at equal intervals around the craft ring. As I filled the space between each one, I quickly realized I hadn’t purchased enough dowels. (That’s when the trips to the second and third dollar store happened). I also didn’t want the dowels all to be exactly the same length. I liked the idea of a few shorter ones dispersed among the others, so I cut some with hubby’s mitre box and saw. I didn’t trim much off, just enough to break up the perfect visual circle.
After the dowels were glued onto the craft ring, I spray painted the whole thing white. An awful lot of white – at three feet across, it’s a very large wreath. When it was dry, I noticed that there was quite a bit of glue visible. Yuck. That’s when I decided to add the second craft ring on top of the dowels to give it a more finished look (another trip to Micheals). And then of course I needed more spray paint. Apparently when spraying something like this a whole lot of paint goes between the gaps onto the surface below. In other words, a lot of paint gets wasted. I used up 5 full cans of spray paint! Five!
I am still pretty thrilled at how it turned out (aside from a couple of imperfections I notice, but hope no one else does). Have a look. Here it is from the kitchen:
And from the far end of the hallway:
In the end the project cost more than I originally intended, mainly because of all the paint, but it definitely suits the space. I spent $12 on floral craft wreaths, $10 on dowels, and a whopping $40 on paint for a grand total of $62. I suppose that’s still not bad for such a huge piece.
What do you think? Any diy projects you love, but cost more than you thought? Any advice on what kind of spray paint you use?
P.S. See our post on our Graphic Statement Wall here.
P.S.S. Linking up to:
WOW, I just love seeing all the version of the DIY Sunburst Mirror that people have made, and love your take on the project. I particularly like that a few dowels are shorter, this adds a lot of interest to the piece. Great job! Janell
p.s. I use Rust-Oluem’s Painter’s Touch spray paint, about $3.50 a can, and they have a new formula that is supposed to have twice as much coverage in a can.
Thank you, Janell. I think I used several types of paint. Some had good coverage, some were too thick. I love how it turned out though! S.
I’ve seen these mirrors on several blogs, but I like yours because it’s oversized. I like the color too.
Speaking of the Rust-oleum paint, that paint Janell is tallking about is called ultra coverage and it has 2x the coverage of regular spray paint. I’ve used it on several projects and it’s way better than any other spray paint I’ve used.
Thank you, Shannon. Hmmm, we’ll have to check out that paint. I’d love to not waste so much the next time. S.
Walmart has spray paint for 97cent/can… brand is colorBlock i think.
Hey, thanks! I’ll see if they have that up here in Canada. S.
Well, it might have cost more than you were expecting but it is very cool looking! It is such a large piece too! I’m off to check out your graphic wall…
Thank you, Samantha. I hope you like the wall too. S.
I LOVE IT !!! I’m going to do one for my new apartment !!!
I love the this idea and would like to try one myself. I was at Michaels and the craft rings they sell ahve a few holes in them. Did your have the holes? If so what did you do to cover them?
Yes, ours had holes in it. For the back one (the one which all the sticks are glued to) it doesn’t matter because the holes get covered. If you choose to put a second craft ring on top (like we did, because I wasn’t so tidy with my glue and it looked terrible after I spray painted it), just use some wood fill, sand and then paint. Have fun! S.
I just love these…I’ve been toying of making one myself and love all the different variations I’m seeing. Yours seems to be an easy construction for sure. I stumbled upon your blog and wanted you to know I am enjoying it very much, and following. Best wishes, Karajeanne
Hi Karajeanne,
Thank you very much! We’re so glad you found us! Thank you for following.
S.