Create Your Own Instagram Mirror

Instructions

1 - Job Setup

1. Open your design in Silhouette Studio and select the mat option, you can cut each colour individually without the mat if you prefer but it is much quicker to cut everything at once and, as all the vinyls are from the same product range, they will use the same blade settings Select your file and ‘release compound path’ and ‘ungroup’ if necessary so that you can move shapes around individually. To save vinyl and time I shifted the two sections of black text closer together to form two small sections of pre-spaced lettering, I moved the pre-spaced grey shapes to the bottom right corner and the red to the bottom left, I moved these closer together to save space. Click send.

2 Cutter Setup

2. Check your blade and perform a test cut (see here for instructions)

3 Mat Setup

3. Place your vinyl onto the mat as shown above using the grid to ensure that the positioning correlates with the position of your shapes on screen. Smooth or squeegee the vinyl down well to make sure that it doesn’t slip. If your mat is dirty this will reduce the bond and small pieces may move during cutting. Load your mat into your cutter and start cutting.

4 Weeding

4. Unload your mat,turn it upside down and peel it away from the vinyl as this reduces curl on the vinyl. Weed out your shapes line by line, keep something sticky nearby to stick all the fiddly letter centres onto! 

5 Application Tape

5. Apply your application tape to each piece of vinyl and squeegee down well, on the face and from the reverse, then cut out the different sections ready for application.

6 Prepare your mirror

6. Clean and dry your mirror thoroughly, I used ImagePerfect Surface Cleaner but you can use any suitable cleaner which will remove grease and fingerprints without damaging the product.

7 Vinyl Application

7. Take your black vinyl shapes, peel away a bit of the application tape and rip off a corner of the backing paper, use this to position and anchor the shapes in place before removing the remainder of the backing paper, then squeegee down firmly, taking care not to stress the glass. 

8. Pull back a corner of the app tape and, folding it back on itself, gently pull away from the mirror leaving the vinyl behind, if the shapes start to lift replace the tape and squeegee again or rub with your finger as warming the vinyl will help it to stick.

9. Repeat with remaining vinyl until all you have left are the tiny individual pieces of red and grey that you duplicated. These can be applied by hand, in place of or on top of the duplicate placeholder shapes that you have already applied.

10. Give everything a final squeegee to ensure all the shapes are adhered securely, use a felt edge squeegee or protect with paper to prevent it scratching the glass. Leave for 24 hours before washing or placing in a humid environment to allow the adhesive to cure.

Step back and admire your work!