Because the fortunes of Beekman 1802 are so closely tied to goats, we are always looking for quirky little icons to place around the house—santons, talisman, relics—whatever you like to call them, we scoop them up in honor of the 4 legged ombudsmen in the pasture.

Several years ago we bought a page from an old history book that included an etching of a goat balanced atop a walking stick. The image was part of a larger picture that was really not that interesting, and we struggled with how to frame or display the etching.

3 years later, it came to us!

After seeing a tutorial on our Pinterest page about how to make a regular glass vase look like vintage mercury glass using Krylon mirror paint, an idea came to us. Instead of framing the etching with a traditional mat board, why not create a mercury glass “mat” to isolate the specific portion of the etching that we wanted to display?

Here are the steps we took:

1. Found a large vintage oak frame (you can find examples of these in almost any antique shop)
2. Removed and cleaned the glass from the frame.
3. Measured out the space on the glass where we wanted the image to be seen (use a wax pencil to draw out the space)
4. Using paint tape, completely covered the area of the glass that we wanted to remain clear (where the image would be displayed)
5. Using the Krylon paint as directed on the back of the can, we “mirrored” the side of the glass with the tape.
6. After the 3rd coat, while the paint remained tacky, we filled a standard spray bottle with a 50:50 mixture of white vinegar and water.
7. We sprayed the painted area, alternating the distance we held the spray nozzle from the frame to get larger and smaller droplets
8. The acid of the vinegar will immediately cause the paint to bubble. Using the corner of a paper towel, “pop” these bubbles to create the effect of antique mirror
9.  We also gently rubbed some areas to create larger bare areas. If you mess up or don’t like the desired effect, simply wait for the vinegar to dry and then spray again with the paint.
10. After 24 hours for the paint to dry completely, we removed the tape.
11. We mounted the etching on a piece of white poster board. You will see the color of the board through the “holes” you created in the mirror, so you may also choose black or even a color that coordinates with your decorating scheme.

We think it turned out to be framing fit for a king—the king of the mountain, that is.