Scavenger Chic

Halloween Face in the Mirror, DIY

• By Joan
• September 8, 2021
• 2 Comments

Mirror Makeover

Halloween Face in the Mirror, DIY

Several years ago I showed you how to make a spooky face in an old window just in time for Halloween.  There was this doll face, above, and also another creepy  head with hands. Both were super simple to create using an old window, black spray paint and Mirror Spray paint.

When my sister found this discarded mirror she immediately thought of my spooky windows.  Could I do the same effect with an existing mirror?   And why would anyone discard this perfectly nice mirror?  I couldn’t tell you, but I am up for the challenge. 

First I had to find my creepy face in the mirror inspiration.   Just Google Creepy Face, Scary Face, baby doll head, skull head… and click on images.  This little baby doll almost made the final cut…

…until I found this guy.  What could be better than looking into a mirror and seeing this guys beautiful face shining back?

Edit your photo so that you have a black border around your photo.  Print out on a full sheet of paper and trim off the white border. If you are unable to make a black border in photo editing, consider spray painting the edge with black spray paint.  A white border will show thru your mirror.  

On the back of your mirror, use a razor blade to scrape away the black paint where you want your scary face to peek thru.

After my initial scraping, the black paint was gone but I still had too much of the mirror silver obscuring my photo.

I was considering paint remover to remove the remaining silver, fresh out.  Tried paint thinner, no change.  Fine steel wool, nothing.

Turns out, to get the rest of the silver off all I needed was a sharper razor blade.

Now you can see my baby doll.  

She was cute, but I decided to go with skeleton head.  He was a little more horizontal as I pictured the mirror over a buffet or mantel.  I did have to scrape a little more on the back of the mirror to show a little of his shroud.

On the back of the mirror, center your picture over the scraped mirror area.

Use black spray paint  to spray around the photo making sure there are no clear glass areas of the mirror.  

When the paint is dry, tape the photo in place or use spray adhesive to adhere directly to the glass.

Reattach the frame (if you took it off).  Back outside where the frame got a coat of  black satin Rustoleum.  The black overspray onto the mirror was on purpose.  If you don’t like this look, spray paint the frame before reattaching the mirror.

Around the face, I hid any extra razor scrapings with a light coat of Mirror Spray paint.

Hopefully you have some mirror spray paint left over from all your faux mercury glass effects projects because you won’t use much here.  Yes, you can do projects with the mirror spray paint that don’t have scary people staring at you.  Mercury glass jar , Mercury Glass window, Eiffel Tower Window,  Window Side Table

I’m trying a new product here. Montana Cans Spider Effect Color, Spray Paint.  Sounds just about perfect for a spooky mirror.  Short Youtube videos here and here featuring the spray paint.

The black spider spray paint is a super small can but you don’t use much. There is probably enough in the can leftover for a couple more projects.  It reminded me of shooting silly string, though the strings were finer.

I used more of the spider effect around the border of the mirror and less over Mr. Bones.

Right now he is happily displayed with some of my old Halloween decor though I think I have to return him to my sister.

You can find instructions for the bottle and book here.  Some of the bones were leftover from my meat and cheese platter.  You can find a different version of skull under glass here.

I think I still need some spider webs to finish off the look. 😯 

Until next time, stay inspired.

Related posts:

Halloween, Face in the Window DIY Spooky Halloween Window Beginner Woodworking, Super Easy DIY Wood Candle Holder Pallet Wood and Skulls for Halloween