Recycle JAR LIDS Into Compact Mirrors

recycled jar lids

As part of Team EcoEtsy's Trash to Treasure Challenge I made these easy, peasy compact mirrors from jar lids.

Of course, mine are magnetic, but since you may not have the magnets on hand to pull this off - I created some other options, too!

Step 1. Get yourself some jar lids. You may need to raid friends' refrigerators and cupboards for the sizes you need. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

<------ If you don't want to walk around town randomly smearing lipstick on your face - yuck -

you need a mirror.

Hub's pickles look like this now ------->

I told him, "It's this or I go out with lipstick smeared under my nose". Yes, these were his options ... he handed over the lid.

(I somehow still end up with lipstick smeared under my nose though, go figure).

Step 2. Get yourself some mirrors - hit up your local craft store with that gift card your Aunt Ethel gave you when you "started that crafty business of yours".

Now it goes without saying, but I'll just go ahead and say it, you have to coordinate the sizes here - tops, bottoms and mirrors. Good luck with this.

Step 3. Decide on your style. Lids can be painted, paper or fabric covered or left naked. I like my upcycled thingamajigs to retain some connection to their former life and don't mind carrying a Barilla Pasta Sauce compact mirror (maybe you would - I don't judge).

Writing can sometimes be removed with nail polish remover - check out the one I punched with "Mirror, Mirror ...." in the top photo.

Step 4. For the one sided mirror - simply hot glue the mirror inside the lid (after decorating lid).

For the magnetic compact - glue the magnets in the lids (both sides) - check your polarity (warning shameless plug ahead - have you seen my Polarity Magnetic Lockets - I think you need one) - magnets must be glued in precisely the right places. I'm a magnet expert. You might not be - so go slow and check your polarity AGAIN. Then carefully glue the mirrors on top of the magnets.

If the bottom lid fits tightly into the top lid you can skip the magnets, but you might have trouble opening it.

I glued a tag from a t-shirt partially under the mirror to hang outside the compact and act as a pull tab for me to open it easily.

If your lids don't fit together snugly and you don't want to take out a second mortgage to buy enough magnets to make this all work

(please don't show up at my door with your hand out or sneak into my studio with steel in your pocket and think you can slip out the back without me noticing the magnets stuck to your pants - no one has ever been that happy to see me, believe me, I'll notice)

a nice thick rubberband, ink stamped with some encouraging words will do the trick.