DIY Dragon Fruit Mirror Makeover

Whether you’re returning to high school or college, you’re a teacher, a parent or just someone who’s really bummed summer break is almost over, you can feel it’s that time of the year again:

Back to school season.

A time that doesn’t have to be filled with dread and anxiety. It actually comes with quite a few perks. Think of all the cute stationary you could be stocking up on! And it’s of course the perfect time for a DIY or two.

As always I’m a little late to the party. But here it finally is: my first back to school tutorial of the year!

This tutorial was inspired by the latest ‘it’ food. It’s like everybody’s been eating dragon fruit non stop lately! The summer fruit also known as Pitaya is of course very Instagram worthy, whether it’s in a dish or a craft ?

What I used:
A plain pocket mirror
Pink, white and black nail polish
A sewing pin or proper dotting tool

It’s one of those must have items in your school/work/leisure bag: a foldable travel mirror. And I found this plain black mirror that was screaming for a makeover!

Make sure the surface on the outside of the mirror is smooth and clean. Take off any tags or stickers. I used rubbing alcohol to make sure every last bit of glue from the price tag was removed.

You can of course paint whatever design you want, but the round shape makes it perfect for a summer fruit paint job: a slice of lemon or orange, half a watermelon, half a kiwi … the possibilities really are endless.

I decided to go with a pitaya. I admit, it’s not typically a round fruit, but this is what I imagine a dragon fruit cut down the middle would look like ?

I started with the lightest color first. In the middle I drew a circle with the white nail polish. One thick layer was enough to cover up the surface.

Let this layer dry completely.

Once the nailpolish was dry it started to crack a little. Whether this happens or not will depend on the material the casing of your mirror is made of.

I actually liked this bonus effect and found that aside from those few cracks the design is actually pretty durable!

Once the white nail polish has dried, apply a pink layer around the edges. I let this layer dry as well before moving on to the seeds.

To make the small dots to mimic the tiny seeds of a dragon fruit, I DIYed my own dotting tool. I used the flat top of a sewing pin and dipped it in the black nail polish. This DIY dotting trick is actually inspired by nail art tutorials I found on Pinterest!

Act fast, because once the black nail polish starts to dry, it becomes more difficult to handle.

Now all there’s left to do is let this layer dry as well. And then you can start showing off your DIY Mirror Makeover on the bus/train/at the gym/office/in the class room/ …

Which summer fruit will you choose?