Another Way to Make a Crown

Have you seen the creative ways people have been making crowns on various crafting blogs?  I've been saving creative crown ideas on a Pinterest board that you can view HERE.  A crown isn't exactly an item one needs, but on the other hand, I think every woman should have at least one, and if it's handmade, that makes it more special.  I'd like to show you my version of a handmade crown (below):

I've seen crowns made from stiffened lace and was very inspired by them.  I wanted to make a crown from something unexpected too.  Then one day it dawned on me!  Those little inexpensive vanity top mirrors have metal filigree frames that make perfect bases for crowns!

If you remove the base of the mirror you are left with a metal filigree edging that's somewhat pliable.  I was lucky enough to find one that was round already, and about the side of someone's head.  If you find the more common oval mirror, you will want to cut it down with tin snips and reshape it with chain nose pliers.  To attach the two ends, you can use a strong bonding glue like J-B Weld or E-6000.

 

 Once I had a good base, I wanted to add on to my crown.  I found a great piece of brass hardware from a drawer pull that I decided to glue to the front to add some height to the front of the crown.

Before I attached the brass piece, I decided to alter the finish on it because it was very shiny and new looking.  I buffed it with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove any coating present and soaked it in a water bath with some patina gel:

 The patina gel didn't darken the brass a lot, but it took away the brand-new appearance.  

I had to bend the brass piece to make it conform to the shape of the crown with chain-nose pliers.  Then I glued the brass piece to the crown base with E-6000, using clothespins to keep it in place overnight:

I got into my stash to see what else would look good on my crown:

I found a piece of metal filigree and added it to the top.  It sort of tied the whold thing together, color-wise:

With the addition of some rhinestone chain, a few chandelier crystals, baubles, and a violet glass cabochon, you can't really tell this was once a mirror frame and a piece of drawer hardware, can you?

 

So that's my version of a crown.  I hope you are inspired to try this project yourself!

 
I am participating in the following link parties, so stop by if you can:  Strut Your Stuff Saturday; Tutorial Tuesday;Treasure Box Tuesday; and Link Party Palooza.

Comments

[Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions]

Beautiful crown, Mitzi! Fit for a Queen! : ) Very creative and inspiring to use the piece from those vanity mirrors. I never thought of them that way {and boy I saw a lot of those last year when I was hitting a lot of estate sales!}. I'm definitely going to keep my eye out for them from now on!

[theresa]

that is fabulous Mitzi! I love the repurposing and I think I may have one or two of the little mirrors... mine might be a bit big so the hunt begins! :) Thanks for sharing ~ t.xoxo

[Terri]

Your crown is lovely! I have a couple of those metal rings with the mirrors already removed, so may just have to try this.

[janet johnson]

I am impressed! I will have to try making one of these. It would look great on a bedpost, a vanity, or mannequin like yours. It would be a great gift! I would love to poke around in your mind for a few minute. Thanks for sharing this item.

[Nora]

OMG you are so talenteddd!! Thanks for the inspiration - I sure will bookmark this for future reference!

[Mitzi Curi]

Im glad you found my crown project inspiring, Janet! Let me know if you make your own version.....

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Thanks so much, Nora! Its always nice to hear from you!

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Theresa,

I think you and your daughter should wear crowns at the market in Grand Rapids.....just a thought!

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Terri,

Thats awesome! Let me know how they turn out!

Mitzi

[Mitzi Curi]

Hi Kathy,

Thanks! I hope you create your own version. Let me know if you do!

Mitzi