Broken Mirror Recycled Art Projects

Broken mirror on the wall, what am I going to do with you? Recycled art projects transform your broken mirror into fun and elegant decorations for your home. With a few simple tools and a bit of creativity, the pieces of your broken mirror can become one of your favorite craft supplies.

Make An Elegant Frame

Many recycled art projects also make good gifts. Personalizing a frame by highlighting it with pieces of mirror glass can produce amazing results, as in the photos above. For this project you will need wheeled glass nippers, a frame, and good craft glue.

Rococo frames lend themselves well to this project. Because the designs are in relief, the pieces of broken mirror catch the light from a number of angles, and the frame really sparkles. After you have selected your frame, plan your design and study the shapes you will need.

Wheeled glass nippers are very easy to use. Simply place a shard from your broken mirror between the wheels, and squeeze the handles just like a pair of pliers. The nippers will cut through the glass. For curves or imperfect circles, remove small chunks of glass. If you have pistol-grip glass cutters and breaking pliers, use those to form smooth curves and circles.

Glue the broken mirror shapes onto your frame, making sure to leave a rim around the edge without glass for easy handling.

Make A Mosaic

Create a mosaic design incorporating pieces of mirror glass to use as a wall hanging or table top. From botanical designs to modernistic geometrics, mosaics are fun and easy to make. Mosaic recycled art projects often suggest using broken pottery, shells, and chips of stone, but broken mirrors add wonderful sparkle to these otherwise bland designs.

Glue the pieces of your mirror into position on the substrate. Glue pieces of colored glass, shell, enamel, or other items into place as well. Fill in the gaps with clear liquid resin or mosaic grout.

Make Mini Mirrors

The most versatile of these broken mirror recycled art projects, mini mirrors can be worn as pendants, hung as Christmas tree decorations, given as gifts, or hung in dolls houses. For this project you will need oven bake polymer clay and embellishments. Cubic zirconia, glass beads, some natural stones, and craft wire are all oven safe.

Select your mirror pieces, or use wheeled glass nippers to create special shapes. Create frames of polymer clay for each mini mirror. Use the craft wire to stick beads and stones into the clay frame, and add loops of wire for hanging embellishments or to use as a bale.

Set the cubic zirconias by encircling them with a coil of clay to form a bezel. Add texture using clay tools, stampers, or found objects. Bake the mini mirrors per the polymer clay company’s instructions.

Hang the mini mirrors from organza ribbon, necklace cords, or woven chains. Depend charms or beads from the center or sides of the frame if desired.

Consider your broken mirror a chance to create unique recycled art projects, and turn seven years’ bad luck into a golden opportunity!