How to Hang a Mirror with Paper

 I wanted to share the method that I used with you I used to hang this large mirror especially since it had those two inset hanging holes (Which I hate) instead of one wire or a saw tooth bar (which I love so much more…) This avoids all of the extra measuring and guess work  do that I normally and re- drilling in case your measurements are just a little off…I hope I explain this clearly! And if you have any doubt, please err on the side of safety… I would hate to hear that one of my blog reader’s perished while decorating.

First, use a stud finder to see if there are any studs underneath and to make sure there’s no electrical or plumbing running under where you are going to drill. That would be very bad. My brother once drilled through a plumbing line, thank goodness it wasn’t electrical! Not a good thing. If you have a stud, that’s great,use it! But my studs never seem to run under where I want to hang the heavy stuff or are around when I need them. I used wall anchors ( we also call them Molly bolts, I’m not sure why..) and very long screws because it was so heavy since I didn’t have any studs underneath. These are the hangers I had to work with that were already on the mirror. First,mark on the wall at top of the mirror or picture in the center where you want it to hang. If there isn’t some one to help you, you can cut the silhouette of the object out of a piece of newspaper and position that on the wall too (then just use that piece as your “map”..you’ll see…).

Then, You’re going to make a “hanging map”. Take a piece of paper with a straight edge. Any piece as long as it will run the entire length of the the back of the picture or mirror.. The biggest one I had was from a shirt box, which is why it’s a bit crumply, but it’s going to be thrown out any way… Er… I mean recycled…anyway.

Tape it to the top and the sides so that it’s well fitted and the straight line runs along the top of the mirror. Mark the center spot on the paper, and use a tape measure if needed. You can also use painter’s tape if you have it on hand. I didn’t have any so this crumply paper needed to stand in.

Once the paper is well fitted, Push a marker or pen into the very top of the hanger holes. If you want to see how I hung an entire wall of mirrors from the dollar store to create  a larger mirror, check out this post.

Once you have both holes marked, take the paper off of the back of the mirror and re-tape it to the wall, lining up the two top center marks and the line and(very important) use a level to make sure the two holes are level with each other. Remember the top of your paper is the top of the mirror so don’t place it any higher or lower. and use a level to make sure the mirror will hang level.

 

Once you are sure the marks are level, and your paper is taped and isn’t going to move; use your full safety protection and drill right through the paper into the wall. Make sure the drill bit is big enough for the wall anchor to just go in. You wall anchor should have to be slightly hammered in; not just slip in. If you drill too big of a hole you’ll need a bigger anchor and too small of a hole, a bigger drill bit and you’ll break the anchor when you try to hammer it in. It’s better to always start with a smaller bit and gradually go larger.Take your paper down and hammer your wall anchors in to hang your mirror.

Do the same on the other side, learning from your mistakes from the first wall anchor 😉 Once your wall anchors are in, you can screw your screws in. Look at the wall hangers on the back of the picture for guidance on how much screw to leave sticking out. Normally, it’s really not a lot. Then you are ready to hang!