This beachy mirror DIY will make you 'sea' yourself and your space differently

If you’ve grown tired of the ho-hum looking glass you pass by every morning, it’s time to exercise your crafting muscle. Accent mirrors can get pricey, so this DIY project is ideal if you want to spruce up your space without spending a lot of money.
What makes this mirror extra special is its boho-beachy vibe, courtesy of a rattan trivet, a few swingy tassels and some sweet, petite seashells. This mirror will offer a tsunami of style, whether you hang it above your vanity, in your entryway or on your mantel. It’s neutral by nature, too, so it will harmonize with virtually any style and color scheme, from neutral to neon or traditional to ultra-contemporary.
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Materials
- Spool of thick white string
- Small cardboard rectangle, about 3 inches by 4 inches
- Scissors
- Rattan circular trivet, about 7 to 8 inches in diameter
- Heavy-duty sewing needle
- Spool of white thread
- Thin plywood disk that matches the diameter of the trivet
- Waterproof wood glue for interior and exterior use
- Four small metal spring clamps
- 6-inch diameter circular mirror
- Tube of E6000 glue
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
- 14 small seashells
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Instructions
1. Unravel some string from the spool, and wrap it around the cardboard rectangle five or six times.
2. Cut the wrapped string from the spool with scissors.
3. Slip the cardboard piece out of the string, and tie a square knot around the upper third portion of the looped string.
4. Cut the knotted piece of string from the spool.
5. Trim the bottom ends of the string loops with the scissors so they become single strands.
6. Unravel the fibers of the string's cut ends, up to where the knot is, to create a tassel.
7. Trim the tassel ends one more time with the scissors.
8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 four more times so you have a total of five tassels.
9. Thread the sewing needle, and put it through the top loops of one of the tassels.
10. Bring the needle and thread through the outermost portion of the trivet.
11. Take the needle off the thread, and set it aside.
12. Knot the two ends of the thread so the knot is at the edge of the trivet and the tassel hangs down from it.
13. Trim any excess thread after tying the knot.
14. Repeat steps 9 to 13 with the remaining tassels, and space each tassel about an inch from the next until all are hanging from the bottom of the mirror.
15. Apply wood glue directly from the bottle to one side of the wooden disk.
16. Affix the disk to the trivet, and flip it over so the wooden side facees up.
17. Attach a spring clamp to the top, bottom and sides of the disk and trivet.
18. Allow the glue to dry completely, per the directions on the glue bottle.
19. Remove the spring clamps from the piece.
20. Flip over the piece so the trivet side faces up.
21. Apply E6000 glue to the back of the circular mirror.
22. Affix the mirror to the trivet, and ensure that it's centered. Follow the drying guidelines on the E6000 tube.
23. Apply a bit of hot glue to a small portion of the mirror’s edge, and affix the string, while still attached to the spool, to it.
24. Continue applying glue to a few inches of the mirror’s edge at a time and glue the string to it until the string outlines the mirror.
25. Cut the string from the spool.
26. Apply a drop of hot glue to the end of the string, and affix it so it joins with the other end of the length of string that lines the mirror.
27. Apply a drop of hot glue on the spot between the string that outlines the mirror and the outer edge of the trivet, midway between two of the tassels.
28. Affix the smooth closed side of one of the small shells to the trivet on the drop of glue.
29. Repeat steps 27 and 28 until all the shells adorn the trivet. There should be a shell in between each of the tassels and a shell every inch or so on the rest of the trivet.
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