In a New York Minute (an Altered Clock)

I love getting really cool papers in the post, and when I received the Tim Holtz papers by Design Originals as part of my sponsor package for Scrap That Moment I frantically searched through my alterables closet. (Yes, I have a closet full of stuff to alter… and no, I don’t have a problem with that. My husband does, but I don’t.) The result—a retro alarm clock.

I found this little clock in one of the charity shops a few months ago. I went out specifically looking for clocks for an assemblage challenge project, but things got out of hand and I never was able to start, let alone finish, the project for the challenge. I really liked the clock for several reasons—it had a simple shape, it worked, and I love how the footballer’s leg kicked back and forth with the ticking of the seconds. It was the movable leg that sold the clock for me…. although at £1.49, it wasn’t much of a sell.

What you’ll need to make your own clock (or similar altered object):

• A clock
• Some Decorative paper or cardstock and embellishments (I used the Tim Holtz papers and Doo-Dads by Design Originals )
• An ink pad for distressing (I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks by Ranger in ‘Old Paper’)
• Your favourite paper adhesive (I used double sided tape)
• Tissue paper (preferably bleedproof, but it’s not necessary)
• Modge Podge (or PVA glue)
• A marker—optional. (I used Sakura Permapaque)
• A paintbrush, scissors and a sharp knife

First things, first. You will need to disassemble your clock. You will also need to remember how you disassembled your clock so you can reassemble the piece when it’s done. For most clocks, it will simply be a matter of removing the bits that wind the clock up, taking off the feet and popping the back off. If for any reason your clock is more complicated, take a few digital photos while you take it apart so you remember how it goes back together. Keep all your small bits in a grip-lock bag or a small box to avoid losing them, and only take off the bits that are necessary in order to remove the face of the clock from the exterior body.

Once the main body of the clock was removed from the rim, I removed the movable foot piece and the small alarm hand, both of which just popped off. The main hands of the clock were well engineered into the piece, so I left them alone.

And now the fun bit—decorating. :)

I placed the clock piece face down on the decorative paper I was using as a background, traced around it, marked the centre and cut a hole for the hand movement. I also then cut a line from the edge of the background paper to the centre to allow me to get the background paper on the face without removing the hands of the clock. Mark and make holes for the smaller hands, if applicable.

If your design has an obvious up or down, be sure the top of the design rests at the 12 o’clock position, and glue the piece into place. Once glued down, the cut line is hard to see, however try to place the cut where it will be hidden by other papers or embellishments. This may require a bit of extra pre-planning if you aren’t adding many extra bits to your clock. (Note: the background paper I used is called ‘Railroad’)

Choose your elements that will go on the face, in this case I took postcards off the ‘New York’ paper, the letters N and Y from the ‘Print Blocks’ paper and Doo-Dads off the ‘Postage’ sheet. Cut them out to size, ink the edges with distress ink and glue them to the clock face. Be aware that on most alarm clocks the outer 1/4-inch will be covered up by the interior rim, so make sure that everything fits within the viewable space. You can always place the rim over the face to double check that everything is in the right position before firming everything into place. Once glued down, you’ll be able to trim off the excess around the edges with a pair of scissors.

I reattached both the hand for the alarm (on the left side), and the little footballer’s leg (on the right-hand side). I then covered the leg up with a postcard Doo-Dad, sticking it into place with a bit of double-sided tape, ensuring it had enough room to move without hitting the rim of the clock.

As a final touch to the face, I used a brown marker to fill in the glow in the dark strips on the clock hands. Call me strange, but I didn’t feel as if the glowing green was all that harmonious with the vintage feel of the rest of the clock, but if your clock will be used in a bedroom you may wish to keep this glow in the dark feature.

And now the messy bit—decorating the body of the clock.

For this exercise, be sure you are working on a surface that is easy to wipe up, as the Modge Podge will get all over your work surface, and if you can’t find bleedproof tissue the colour of the tissue will also get all over your work surface. If all else fails, lie a large bin bag across your table to protect it.

To begin, tear your tissue into small pieces, about 1 to 2-inches square(ish). These pieces don’t have to be precise, they just need to be a workable size with no cut edges. Paint a bit of the Modge Podge onto the body, cover it with a piece of tissue, and paint more Modge Podge over the top to glue it down. On the edges of the piece, simply fold the tissue over the edge and glue it to the inside (this will help keep the tissue in place while it dries). Continue glueing down bits of tissue in this manner until you’ve covered the entire piece with a couple layers of tissue. You’ll need to do this to the body, the interior rim, the back, and the footplate (if your clock has a footplate… mine did). Don’t worry about avoiding the holes for the feet and such, just tissue right over them, then poke through the holes with a pencil. You can always use a little Modge Podge on the back side to seal them into place.

Once your pieces are dry, you’ll need to cut away any tissue on the interior of the body and the interior rim of the back piece where they slip into to one another. This is usually a pretty tight fit on most clocks, so it won’t accomodate the extra tissue. On the body, run a sharp knife around the inside to cut away the excess tissue. On the back piece, score a line under the lip of the back and you should be able to peel the tissue away quite easily.

Now it’s time to reassemble your clock. Be sure to clean the glass of the clock before putting it back together to ensure you don’t have any tissue, glue or fingerprints trapped inside. Once all the bits are back on the clock, wind the piece up and enjoy your work.