DIY (Big) Clock

About 5 years ago, I purchased a large 32" clock on clearance at Kirkland's. I believe I paid about $20 for the clock and I LOVE it. My mom has always admired the clock and the two of us have searched everywhere for one like it (that is affordable). No luck. So this year I decided that I would make her one for Mother's Day.

Here is a photo of the clock I purchased at Kirkland's.  It is sitting on the top shelf of one of the shelves to the side of the fireplace.  I removed one of the shelves to make room for it.

Here is a photo of the knockoff clock I made for mom.

Mom loved her new clock. If you want to know how I did it... keep reading. :-)

First I needed to find something to make the clock base.  I checked Lowes and Home Depot for a pre-cut wood circle, however they didn't have one large enough and those things are HEAVY.  Then I thought about using the round top from one of those decorating tables, the kind that has three legs than screw in the bottom and you cover with a table cloth.  It seems no one sells them anymore in my area and the ones I found online were very pricey.  Finally, at Hobby Lobby I was looking at the foam core board... it was large enough... only $5.99... perfect!

I took my clock down and put it on top of the foam core board, traced it then cut it out with an exacto knife.  To smooth the edges, I used a very fine grit sand paper.  You could also get a perfect circle by putting a push pin in the center of the foam core tied to a string with a pencil on the end.  

Next I painted with red spray paint.  It took about 5 coats of paint to get an even coverage.  I probably should have used black foam core instead of white.  I think it may have been easier to cover with the red paint. 

I purchased the clock parts at Hobby Lobby.  The kit with the pendulum had hands that were way too small for this clock.  I found another kit that had large hands and also came with vinyl numbers.  I was very excited to find this kit because that meant I didn't have to paint the the numbers on freehand.  :-)  All clocks were on sale for half off that week, so they let me have the clock kits at half off as well. 

I found the center of my clock and cut a hole with the exacto knife for the clock mechanism.  The large clock kit came with a template for adding the numbers, so that was pretty easy to do.  It is easier for the spacing to add the twelve and six first then the three and nine then fill in from there.  However, I didn't use the number six since I would be cutting a hole for the pendulum.

Once I had all the numbers on, I used a gold paint pen to trace around them. 

If you look back at the clock I purchased, it has some metal gold accent pieces at the top and bottom of the clock.  At Hobby Lobby, I found the package of buttons in the scrapbook section and the metal piece I used for the top portion was in the jewelry section. 

The gold circle around the pendulum area is scrapbook paper cut with nestibilities dies.

The stencil is one that I already had in my studio.  I used the same gold paint pen for the stenciled area hat I used to trace around the numbers.

I think that is everything.  Thanks for stopping by. :-)

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DIY Fountain

This project was awarded "Jen's Pick" in the CSI Hardware Store Challenge.  Thanks Jen!


I have always loved fountains and the sound of water... so relaxing. However, to purchase a premade water fountain can be a bit pricey. What is a DIY girl to do? I had to try it for my self. I love how it turned out... What do you think?

I made a video so you can see the water flowing. :-)

I will show you what I did, but keep in mind I am not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. I completely made this up as I went along, so I am sure there is a "right" or "better" way.

Here is what I used:

1 large flower pot (approximately 18" in diameter)
1 small flower pot (approximately 8" in diameter)
1 fountain pump (70 gph)
1 nozzel kit (to make the water come out pretty)
2 bags of marble rocks
1 pkg of tubing
1 pkg of wood ball knobs
Elmers craft bond cement

I spray painted both the flower pots brown so they would match. The large flower pot had a drain hole in the bottom, however it was not large enough for the plug end of the pump to fit through so I used hubby's drill to make it larger. Then filled the hole (all around the cord with silicone) so it wouldn't leak. I also spray painted the wood ball knobs brown and glued them to the bottom of the large pot (this is so the cord would be able to come out the bottom without tilting the pot).

The first time I used white caulk to fill the hole... this was wrong... it will leak. I removed the caulk and used Silicone... perfect!

After the silicone dried, I added a little water to make sure the seal was water tight. It was... Woo! Hoo! Then I attached the tubing to the pump and started adding the rocks. (If you are using the marble rocks, be sure to rinse them first because they have a lot of dust).

Next I centered the small pot into the large one, ran the tube up through it and added the nozzle kit. Then filled the small pot with the marble rocks, added water to the whole thing and plugged it in.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa

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