Mirror Christmas Ornaments

Make your own Christmas Ornaments this year
And Make them Mirrored!

Warning: This project and others on this blog have not been approved by the manufacturer of these machines. Try this at your own risk.

Prerequisite for this project: how to make a standard mirror

Question: What could possibly be a better gift than a hand made, beloved family photo x-mas tree ornament button?

Answer: A hand made, beloved family photo x-mas tree ornament with a mirror back instead of a button!

Take a look at last years ornament project. That one was super simple. Either a) just stick a button on a tree, or b) use a Welded Eye insert (in place of a pin) and ornament wire and presto! you've made an ornament.

While last years ornament was nice, easy, and practical, this year we decided to one-up ourselves and attach wire to a mirror for hanging. Mirror ornaments look great from both sides, they are more glamorous than buttons, and they add life and sparkle to your tree. But how does one go about attaching a wire for hanging? I pondered this most of the year in preparation for the holidays. I got everything together, got out the drill with ity bity drill bits, extra button parts, x-acto blades, hot glue, and a dremel. I got all prepared to experiment and fail when Rex came over and did something so incredibly simple, I had to smack myself on the head and yell DUH! at the sky.



Here's what we did:

1. All you need is:

• A model 225 Button Machine
• A graphic cut to a 2.625 inch circle
• 2-1/4 inch complete Mirror Sets
• 6 inch length of thin gold ornament wire
  

2. Turn the die table to it's horizontal position so that you can see both dies (as shown). Load the shell, smooth side up, into the pick-up die on the left.







3. Insert the graphic on top of the shell and center it so that it is right side up, and facing you and you can properly read any text on the graphic.







4. Insert the mylar on top of the graphic.









5. Insert the collet, sharp side up, into the crimp die on the right.








6. Insert the mirror, face down inside the collet.









7. Bend the shim as shown. It should be bent enough to hold the mirror taught in the finished button, but not so tall that it gets bumped off center when the crimp die goes under the upper die.






8. Place the bent shim on the back of the mirror as shown.









9. Rotate the die table so the pick-up die is under the upper die and pull the handle all the way down toward you. (Just like you would if you were making a normal button). Then rotate the die around again so the crimp die is under the upper die, but don't press it just yet!





10. Bend the ornament wire as shown.









11. Insert the ornament wire in between the crimp die and the upper die, taking care not to bump the shim off center.

Tip: if you're having trouble with this step, try scotch taping the wire to the shim.





12. Pull the handle down toward you, just as though you were pressing a normal button.








That's it! The wire should be firmly pinched in between the the collet and the shell. There's usually a little dimpling at the top and a slightly bent wire, but it's a better than drilling holes or hot glue that's for sure!

Fabric Mirrors

Yay for Fabric Mirrors!!!
Double Yay for Fabric Mirror Tutorials!!!!

If you're not familiar with making fabric buttons please see this post and this post before proceeding.

These are really fun! In this tutorial I'm using a lace shirt with sequins. So it's extra-pretty! Since it's lace you can see the metal shell underneath which gives it shine and an extra layer of pretty! Did I mention I love these???






1. First get everything you need together. That includes:

• A model 225, 300, or 350 Button Machine
• An Adjustable Rotary Cutter
• Complete Mirror Sets for 2-1/4, 3, or 3-1/2 inch
• Fabric
  

2. Set the rotary cutter to the appropriate size. Lucky for mirror makers the cutter has preset stops for 2-1/4, 3 and 3-1/2 inch circles. My fabric pattern doesn't require centering, so for this, I'm not using the centering template that comes with the cutter. To adjust thee cutter to 3 inches, you loosen the screw at the top and push the silver bar over one click in from the widest size. Go here for more information on using the rotary cutter.









3. Put the metal cutting plate under the fabric and stretch the fabric taunt. If there are a wrinkles it'll cause some hiccups in the cutting. Place the rotary cutter on the fabric with the metal plate underneath, push he handle down and rotate it around and around.
When you're cutting fabric you can kinda hear it when it's cut all the way through. It sounds like a crunchy sound as it's going through the fabric, then it sounds smooth when it's all the way through. You may have to go back and forth in opposing directions to make a good cut.



4. Insert the shell into the pick-up die (the one with the deep groove) and center the fabric on top of the shell.









5. Rotate the die table around so the pick-up die is under the upper die and the crimp die is facing you. Insert the collet sharp side up.










6. Insert the mirror reflective side down, in the center of the collet.









7. Bend the shim just enough so it's as tall as it can possibly (about 1/2 inch depending on the machine) be without being bumped out of place by the upper die.









8. Place the shim on the back of the mirror, so it is as centered as possible. Rotate the die table back and forth and make sure that the shim doesn't get bumped out of place when it goes under the upper die. It's important that it's perfectly center or your mirror won't crimp properly.









9. Rotate the die table so that the pick-up die (with the shell and fabric in it) are under the upper die. Pull the handle toward you. Then rotate the die table around so that the mirror and shim is under the upper die (make sure that the shim didn't move) and pull the handle down again.










That's it! just remove the mirror from the machine and marvel at how awesome you are!!

Make Your Own Mirrors - Tecre Model 300, 350

The 2-1/4, 3 inch and 3-1/2 inch machines from ButtonMakers.net can be used to make mirrors as well as buttons!! These are really cool. They make great gifts or novelty items for retail. It's so easy. In this example, I'm using the Model 350 machine.

Here's what you need:

- A Model 350, 350P, 300, 300P, or 225 Button Maker from ButtonMakers.net

- Complete 3 inch or 3-1/2 inch Mirror Sets (This includes shells, mylar, collets, mirror backs, and shims)
- A circular cut graphic


1. Get everything together in one place

2. Place the shell In the pickup die (the one with visible springs). Place the graphic on top of the shell, and the mylar on top of the graphic.

3. Place the collet into the crimp die, flat side down sharp side up. Place the mirror in the center of the collet reflective side down.

4. Bend the shim as shown in the photo below.

5. Place the shim on the back of the mirror. Make sure it is as centered as humanly possible, this is very important. Also make sure that it is not sticking up to far as to be moved out of place when underneath the upper die. Again make sure the shim is centered!

6. Rotate the pickup die underneath the upper die and pull the handle all the way down.

7. Rotate the crimp die underneath the upper die, and make sure the shim is still centered! Pull the handle all the way down again.

8. That's it!! now just remove the mirror from the machine, and put on your lipstick! : )


If you have any trouble with the mirror not crimping together (coming out of the machine in pieces instead of whole) it's because the shim wasn't centered. Make sure the shim is centered and doesn't get bumped off center by the upper die.