6.06.2011

DIY Big Wall Clock

It's finally here- the reveal of the surprise project I talked about in this post and the crackle glaze tutorial!  Turns out, all this time I was making a big clock to hang on the wall.
Yeah! Many of you know that a big clock can cost you an arm and a leg at somewhere like Pottery Barn or even Amazon.  Mine ended up costing me $13, which was what I paid for the actual clock movement.  Yes, it really tells the time!  Everything else was stuff I already had on-hand.  I am so pleased with how it turned out, although there were some unexpected difficulties, which we will get into later.  As a quick recap, here's what I started with:
First thing, I took the legs and the hardware used to attach them off.  Maybe they will reappear in a new project, but I didn't need them for this.  Then, I sanded the table top and did my crackle glaze technique on it.  After the crackle glaze, I was left with this:
At this point I should have done a clear coat to seal it.  I will say this one more time: DO A CLEAR COAT AFTER THE CRACKLE GLAZE.  This was the one thing that gave me trouble.  I didn't do a clear coat until after some of the next steps, and the paint I added over the top sort of reactivated the glaze.  After the crackle glaze, I did a little bit more weathering/distressing with a simple black acrylic paint.
First, I painted on the black, then took a paper towel and wiped it off until I got the look I wanted.  I kept the middle mostly the same and got progressively darker as I moved to the edges.  Once the paint was dry, I used my Silhouette to make vinyl stencils for the numbers.
The font I used is called Market Deco.  Lining the numbers up was a bit of work.  I used a T-square to find the center of the circle, then I used my quilting ruler to get all the numbers in the right places.
Before I peeled off the backing on the vinyl, I positioned them and temporarily held them in place with painter's tape.  When I was satisfied with where the numbers were, I put the vinyl on and filled in the stencils with the same black I used for the glazing.
If you look closely, you can see that I didn't completely paint the numbers in.  I left intentional horizontal brush strokes to add to the weathered look.  I pulled the vinyl off (had some trouble with the previously mentioned reactivated glaze) and finally sprayed on a clear coat.  At this point all I had to do was let the clear coat dry and install the clock mechanism.
To install the movement, I drilled a hole in the middle of the circle and used a Dremel tool to carve out a little bit of the back so the box would sit in a little bit more.  I also had a broken clock from Old Navy that had much bigger metal hands, so I used them instead of the ones that came in the kit, which was a big improvement for me.
I am still trying to decide how to hang it.  I am thinking of either drilling a hole in the back for a nail or putting on picture wire.  I'm leaning toward the picture wire, which seems more stable.  Your thoughts?
Linked up: Skip to my Lou

5 comments:

Chrissy + Nate said...

That looks great! Thanks for sharing! Visiting from TT&J :)

www.chrissyandnathan.blogspot.com

Audrey @ The Cloth Parcel said...

Thanks, Chrissy! I sure love having it hang in my family room.

Eric said...

Nice project.You did great job.That wall clock is really beautiful.Thanks for sharing.

Tori said...

Where did you get the large clock mechanism?

Harrow Decor said...

Wow, what an exciting revelation! I've been eagerly following your updates and couldn't be more thrilled about the surprise project turning out to be a stunning wall clock. The anticipation was definitely worth it! The crackle glaze tutorial added that extra touch of creativity, making the clock truly unique. I can already picture it becoming a focal point in any room. Fantastic job on this project, and thanks for sharing the journey with us!