3.12.2012

large wall clock

As I was posting the video last week, I thought to myself..."has it really been two weeks since my last post?"  I shouldn't have even had to ask myself since I was kindly reminded by a few people {mom}.  But seriously, I have been consumed by school and had nothing of interest to put on this dear little blog.  So unless you wanted me to bore you with a 354,230 pictures of my dog...


Oh woops, finger slipped.  Anywho, seeing that two week gap made me realize it was time to pull myself together and be productive.  In honor of daylights savings, I chose to finish up a clock that I had been putting off for awhile.  I love the look of giant wall clocks, but they can be so spendy.  The solution, of course, is to simply make it yourself.  I started out with a piece of plywood that the hubs kindly cut out for me.  In order to make a perfect circle, he found it easiest to take a piece of wood the size of a paint stir stick and drill a small hole on one end.  He then nailed the wood to the piece of plywood, stuck a pencil in the drilled hole, and traced a circle.  Such a smarty pants.


After the circle was traced and cut, I made life even more difficult for him and requested that he cut lines in the wood to make it look like it was planked instead of a solid piece of plywood.  Of course he said yes and cut the lines about half way through the board.



The rest of the project was on my shoulders.  After sanding and priming the board, it was time to pick out the colors and design for the clock face.  I chose to use black paint for the numbers and leftover off-white paint for the face.  I gave the entire clock two coats of black paint.



My Silhouette Cameo was a huge timesaver for this project.  I googled different wall clocks until I found fonts/layouts that I liked and then recreated it with my Silhouette software.  The obvious next step is to cut the numbers out of vinyl, but vinyl is way too expensive to be wasting like that.  Instead, I use black contact paper as a replacement.  It is super cheap to buy in a huge roll and does the exact same thing as vinyl.  The hardest part of the whole project was lining up the words/numbers just right.  Once I had them all on, I went over all of the contact paper with another layer of black paint to make sure to seal the edges from paint seepage {it still seeped, but I didn't mind the look}.



The clock face needed two coats of white paint, and before it was completely dry I went ahead and pulled of the letters/numbers {most rewarding part by far}.

The final step of the project is to assemble the clock hands/motor.  I found a clock kit for $20 from Coastal Tide Clocks on Ebay.  The diameter of my clock is 30" and I purchased the 14" hands.


Total cost of the project:

Clock kit-$20
Black paint-$3
Plywood, white paint, contact paper-$0 due to having it on hand.


Linking up here:
Serenity Now
The Rooster and the Hen

12 comments:

  1. Dang Tara can I just say that, that impresses me so much! You truly have no idea at all!!

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  2. Wow, this is sensational!! You are seriously talented :)

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  3. You made that? Holy cow that's awesome! Thanks for linking up to the RRR Transformation party, it was a treat to have you!
    Whitney - The Rooster and The Hen

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  4. Excellent prices. Add a family name or logo. Original designs only found HERE.



    Large Wall Clock

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  5. Beautiful design! I am planning to make one of these for my mom for Christmas. I looked into the hands you purchased from Ebay, and I will probably buy those. Do they make a ticking noise? Or are they silent? I don't think she would appreciate a loud ticking clock. Thanks!

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    1. they do make a light ticking noise but you have to be standing pretty close to the clock to even notice. thanks for stopping by!

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  6. I've been wanting one of those clocks for a long time! Thanks for the tip :)
    Take a look Wall clocks

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  10. Your DIY mosaic wall clock sounds fantastic! Creating your own clock is a budget-friendly and creative solution. The "smarty pants" technique your hubs used to trace a perfect circle is brilliant. Can't wait to see the finished clock – it'll be a unique and stunning addition to your home decor. Happy crafting!

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