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The project:
Welcome to Part 4 of my 3D silicone texturing series! If you missed the core engineering hacks, check out Part 1 (The Master Post). Working with squishy, colorful silicone to pipe seamless circles was the perfect way to ground my mind after a tough year. I found two unfinished mirrors in my stash and gave them a double makeover! In this thread, I cover testing paint stability, executing a glittering rhinestone frame border in clear silicone, mixing opaque pastel Anko powders, resin dyes, and plaster casting dyes into white silicone bases, and the absolute laws of circle-piping to keep your lines perfectly steady.
- Materials:
- MDF Craft Mirror from Bunnings - find in the Craft Section
- 100% Pure All-Purpose Silicone (White base for pastels, Clear base for glitter rows)
- Pastel Anko powders, Anko resin dyes, and plaster casting dyes (pink and purple) [from Kmart]
- Fine craft glitters & iridescent glitters [from craft stores]
- Charms: Flatback pastel pearls (in multiple colors and sizes), pearl-ised stars, and flatback rhinestones
- Old plastic storage lid (used by Audrey as a craft paint palette for the practice canvas run)
- Clear adhesive vinyl / book-cover contact plastic &/or just masking tape (for protecting the mirror glass)
- Fine 240-grit sandpaper* (to lightly sand the surface for painting prep)
- Base colour paint or spray paint* — I used Dulux Squirts spray paint in silver!
- *(Check out my Part 5 (coming soon) for a more detailed discussion on prepping MDF craft surfaces with sandpaper and Dulux paint & prime)
- Tools:
- Standard silicone caulking gun
- Disposable pastry piping bags & plastic open-star icing tip
- Craft tweezers
- Whiteboard marker (for marking clock times on the protective vinyl)
- Baking paper or plastic sheets (to protect the workbench)
- Repurposed microwave turntable (for smooth rotation)
- Step 1:
The Practice Canvas & Turntable Setup Controlling the thick flow rate of hardware silicone takes serious muscle memory. Before touching fresh mirror frames, find a test surface! I used an old plastic storage lid that Audrey had been using as a paint palette for her crafts, and placed it onto a repurposed microwave turntable to smoothly spin the canvas while working. I experimented with mixing clear and white silicone bases using both resin dyes and plaster dyes. I practiced laying down a continuous bakery shell border with an open-star plastic tip using the 6 o'clock seam rule, smoothly rotating the turntable to keep my hand pressure perfectly uniform!
(Your hands manually circle-piping onto the test turntable canvas).
- Step 2:
The Two-Tone Marbling Results Because I used the In-Bag Refill Method covered in Part 1, an amazing accidental aesthetic happened! Alternating the white silicone base with the liquid-dyed purple refills inside the same bag created a breathtaking, marbled two-tone frosting effect as I completed the circular rows. After using a few test pushes on the side of my bench to clear out any trapped air bubbles, I kept going on my practice canvas and it worked an absolute treat. It proves that a messy refill process can yield the most stunning, organic color variations!
- Step 3:
Mirror #1: The Clear Silicone & Rhinestone Border (A Learning Curve!) I pulled an unfinished mosaic rhinestone mirror from my stash (originally intended for a grout-and-tile treatment). To elevate this piece, I covered the glass with clear adhesive vinyl, marked my layout with a whiteboard marker, and tried using completely clear silicone loaded with iridescent glitter. Looking back, this was a bit of a transparent fail—instead of clean piping, I should have used a smearing technique similar to Haven’s jewellery tray in Part 3, as the ridges aren't clear enough to properly showcase the rhinestones underneath! To finish, I embedded matching rhinestones completely around the inner piping line using craft tweezers.
- Step 4:
Mirror #2: The Pearl-Embellished Pastel Bakery Design The second mirror—which past me had conveniently spray-painted silver—was the ultimate blank canvas for a multi-row pastel creation, heavily inspired by anna the rat's DIY fake cake mirror tutorial. While Anna's video uses lightweight wall spackle/filler for her faux cakes, I adapted her fun design layout entirely for hardware silicone! Using a white silicone base tinted with pastel Anko powders, Anko resin dyes, and plaster casting dyes, I ran into a happy accident: running out of my purple mix halfway led to a gorgeous, accidental ombré effect during a quick refill! I piped the outer ring, the inner border seam against the wood, and filled the middle using a side-to-side motion on my microwave turntable. Finally, I embellished the whole piece with flatback pastel pearls in multiple sizes and pearl-ised stars.
- Step 5:
The 5 Golden Laws of Circle-Piping Whenever you are piping round or geometric shapes, remember these absolute laws to keep your lines steady and protect your hard work:
- Mark the Clock: Cover your mirror glass with clear adhesive vinyl (like book-covering contact plastic) and use a whiteboard marker to lightly plot your 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions so your spacing doesn't drift.
- The Horizontal Workflow: Never pipe a circle vertically—lay the mirror completely flat on your protective sheet.
- The 6 O'Clock Seam Rule: Always start your continuous row at the bottom center.
- Rotate the Canvas: Anchor your pinky against the outer edge as a guide, work in 3-to-4-inch increments, and rotate the mirror manually on your bench to keep your arm angle identical!
- The Outside-In Curing Rule: Always work from the outermost border moving inward. Let each completed circle ring sit for 10 to 15 minutes to "skin over" before starting the next inner layer so your hands don't smudge your progress. Let cure for 24–48 hours
- Step 6:
Series Links 💖 Catch Up on the Rest of the Series!
