Here is a way to make them yourself. And always remember there is no rule that says you can't make two. Gift one and keep one for yourself.
The first thing you are going to need to do is gather birch bark. I would strongly encourage you to only use the bark from fallen trees as we don't want to injure healthy trees. Peel all of the pieces of bark until you have a good collection of sizes and shapes. How much bark you will need will depend on what size mirror you are using. For demonstration purposes we will be using a 12" x 16". While you are gathering, make sure to gather a collection of small birch twigs in a variety of lengths.
Materials Needed:
- Birch Bark
- Birch twigs
- 12" x 16" mirror with a simple frame
- Rubber Cement
- Glue Gun
- Painters tape or masking tape
- Blade or scissors
Tape your mirror by measuring three inches down from the top. Tape across the three inch mark. Repeat for the bottom. On the sides measure in two inches. There should be a band around the 8" x 10" center that has no tape. Remove any extra tape that ran into the sides. You want your tape to only be a rectangle. This leaves the band outside of the tape for birch.
Cut your birch into mosaic type pieces but keep them as large as possible. You are going to run twigs along the seams. You aren't going to want so many seams that the mirror ends up all twigs. Keep it simple.
Put a coat of rubber cement all over the outside band of your mirror. You can include any frame that is attached to your mirror. Now begin rubber cementing your birch pieces and placing them on the mirror. Remember the birch is two sided. You can use either side or mix it up and use some of each. When you have all of the birch pieces glued down press firmly to give your base a smooth surface. Allow to dry for a day. Now go back and using your scissors or knife cut twigs to cover your seams. Hot glue the twigs into place leaving the inside edge for last. Before you do the inside edge make sure to remove your tape. Now you can use longer twigs to cover the last edge.
These mirrors rival any store bought mirror that sells for hundreds of dollars. Make several if you have enough birch and give them to all of your friends.
