How to Make a Border for a Round Mirror Frame

Glass Pebble Border

• 1

  Wash the frame with spray glass cleaner. Pour the pebbles into a bowl and add cold water to cover. Mix in 1/2 cup of vinegar and stir the pebbles around. Remove the pebbles one at a time, wiping each with a clean, dry cloth. Put them into a container to hold them.

• 2

  Plug in your glue gun and insert a glue stick. When the glue gun is hot, put a dab of glue about half the size of the pebble on the frame. Immediately affix a pebble, pressing the flat side to the frame.

• 3

  Add more glass pebbles, spacing them however you desire. Use a ruler to ensure even spacing. Alternatively, you can affix them so they are touching each other for a single, continuous ring around the frame.

• 4

  Pry any misplaced pebbles off gently with a plastic knife or scraper. Peel up or gently scrape away the glue remnants and you are ready to try again. Continue adding pebbles until they go around the entire frame and you're satisfied with the border.

Stenciled Border

• 5

  Measure the width of the frame, going from the inside edge against the mirror to the outer edge. Select a stencil decoration that will be smaller or narrower than the width of the frame. Use a small image such as a flower, heart, fleur-de-lis or even lettering to spell out words and phrases.

• 6

  Cut out a square of contact paper that measures the width of the frame and is slightly wider than the stencil design you have chosen. Lay the stencil on top of a contact paper square and trace the design on it. Cut out the design with a craft knife.

• 7

  Make more contact paper squares with the cut out stencil design so you can lay them out completely around the frame. The designs should be tilted if necessary so they all radiate outward from the mirror in the center. You can space them as little as 1/4-inch apart, or as much as a couple of inches apart; just use a ruler to make sure they are even.

• 8

  When you're satisfied with the arrangement of the designs, peel off the contact paper backing and carefully adhere them in place to the frame. Make any adjustments that are necessary as you go along, carefully peeling up the paper and repositioning it so all the designs are even all the way around.

• 9

  Pour some acrylic craft paint onto a disposable plastic lid, such as from a coffee can. Dab a round, flat-edged stencil brush into the the paint, then dab it onto scrap newspaper repeatedly until the brush holds very little paint.

• 10

  Tap the brush over the stencil repeatedly to fill in the design. On the first pass, just shade in the designs with color. When you're finished going around the entire frame, start again to give it a second coat. This time the color will be more pronounced. You can give it a third coat if you want it even darker.

• 11

  Peel the contact paper off the frame as soon as you finish the last coat. Let it dry as directed. Brush on a clear acrylic sealer, if desired, to protect your border and let it dry thoroughly according to the manufacturer's directions.