This week’s Craft Corner project falls under the heading of “makeovers.”
Several years ago, we received a little wall clock as a promotional item from a pet-care company. It was a great size, it worked well and the doggy pictures suited us just fine, but over the years, the paper on the face began to pucker and yellow.
We decided to remove the little doggy clock from our kitchen, give it a suitable facelift and move it to our bathroom.
The first step was to examine the clock to see just how it went together and how it was likely to come apart.
Next, we carefully disassembled the clock (since we’ve worked with clockworks before, we weren’t stumped by pulling off the hands), removed the doggy paper on the face and gave all the remaining pieces a cleaning.
We had some great decorative paper – found in the scrapbooking section at a local craft store – which, with its bubble design, was perfect for a bathroom. With some quick-dry tacky glue and a dozen light blue rhinestones to match the paper, we were ready to begin the facelift.
To make over a clock of your own, here’s what you’ll need to do.
Find your clock. You can use an old clock from around the house, get one at a garage sale or thrift shop, or check out the dollar store, if there’s one in your neighborhood, for an inexpensive new clock.
Examine the clock. Take a careful look at how the clock goes together, then disassemble it, exercising patience and gentleness. Our clock had a cover on the face that popped off quite easily when we inserted a nail file into the three notch slots that held it in place and gently pushed the notches inward to release. Many clocks don’t have a cover, so you may be able to skip this step.
Remove the hands. You won’t have to take the clockworks completely off, just the hands. The hour, minute and second hands should come off simply by pulling them off the stem using minimal force.
Remove the old design. If your old clock has a design on the face, chances are it’s a piece of paper that can be easily peeled off. Of course, you can leave the old paper on if you wish, but keep in mind that it might show through the new paper and could eventually pucker, if it hasn’t already. If the old design is painted or printed on the face, you can just paper over it or, if it’s likely to show through, give it a light coat of white or neutral paint before adding your new design.
Reassemble the clock. Put your clock together again by adding your new face design, replacing the hands and putting back any other pieces you may have removed.
If you decide to add stones or other objects around the edge of the clock to serve as hour markers, it’s best to replace the hands of the clock first and then line the stones up with the hands as you move them from hour to hour. This will help to keep the spacing even and the hands and hour markers in sync. We also found it helpful to start by placing the stones first at 12, next at 6, then at 3 and 9, and then filling in the 1 and 2, 4 and 5, 7 and 8, and 10 and 11.
If you follow our lead and use decorative paper to make over the face, poke a small hole in the center where the clockworks stem will go through. This will keep the paper from tearing and also will help it to fit tightly around the stem. The hands will cover up any rough edges.
But don’t limit yourself to using decorative paper. There are many other ways to go.
Photos: Use an old or favorite photo for the face decoration. With all the new technologies available for altering and printing photographs, the options are endless.
Fabric: A piece of fabric in a suitable print, coated with a layer of decoupage medium, can really dress up a clock face.
Stickers: You can find stickers of all kinds, including seasonal, sports, animals, state- and country-themed, floral, hobby-themed – just about anything. Take a stroll through the scrapbooking section at your local craft store and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll find.
Paints: Create your own hand-painted design using regular craft paints or some of the new textured paints available, and don’t forget to check out stencils as a painting guide.
Dried flowers and leaves: Natural items make nice designs when glued in place and coated with a layer of decoupage medium to seal, but do check to make sure that the hands of the clock won’t get stuck on any three-dimensional items you use.
Charms, beads and buttons: As with fabric, paper and stickers, the variety of beads, buttons and decorative charms available today is amazing. Be sure to plan the placement of the items in advance before getting out the glue, and remember to check that clock hands won’t get stuck.
Seashells: Shells make a fun addition to bathroom and patio clocks and can be found in packages at most craft stores.
Contact Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com.
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