make this // revamp a vintage wall clock

Happy Friday everyone! I have a super fun DIY to share with you today and it has totally brightened up my kitchen.

I have been carting around this gorgeous 1960s clock with me forever. I think I stole it from my parents at some point because I was absolutely smitten with those beautiful starburst shapes. I still love this clock but it just doesn’t go with my decor anymore – it has been a couple years since I sold off my sixties wooden furniture and now this clock just looks too retro in my place. I wanted to give it a little makeover to bring it to life again for me. This was a fairly simple DIY project however painting the clock took me all afternoon as the material is a plastic as opposed to wood so it was hard to get the paint to adhere to it without a primer on hand. I highly recommend using Fresh Start Paint Primer if you don’t want to be sitting there for hours painting four coats of paints in 30* C weather. Phew!

Here is what you’ll need to get started:

a cute vintage clock
Fresh Start paint primer
Acrylic Spray Paint or Tube Paint in your color of choice
Sponge Paint brushes
Newspapers or drop cloth
exacto blade
cutting mat
fun patterned wrapping paper for the clock center
decoupage glue or Modge Podge

First, you will want to wipe down the entire cloth with a damp cloth to eliminate any dust. Then remove clock mechanism and place in a ziploc bag to ensure for safekeeping while you are painting. You might need to tape and label the different parts in case you can’t remember how to put it back together again.

While clock plate removed nicely from the base on my clock, you might have to measure and create a template for your wrapping paper if your clock face doesn’t move. Next I spread a thin layer of the decoupage glue on the clock base and carefully laid the wrapping paper over and it and quickly smoothing out any wrinkles. (Don’t worry if there are a couple ripples – once the paper dries it will smooth out on it’s own.) Once it has dried I used my exacto blade to carefully trip the edges of the excess wrapping paper and discarded.

Next you will prime your clock with Fresh Start primer. Just one coat will do the trick. Put aside and let dry. Once the primer has dried paint on your chosen colour or spray paint in a well ventilated area. You might need two coats depending on your paint’s consistency. Once you have finished up painting and allowed time for drying you can start reassembling your clock. First place the patterned clock face back into the base and then using the clock mechanism, secure back into place. Your shiny new clock is ready for hanging and telling time in a fun and cute way! I just love the colour it brings to my kitchen table area now. Also – the fun thing about this DIY is that you can change it up whenever you feel like you are sick of the colour or paint colour. It is just as easy as the first time – soak your clock face plate in warm soapy water to remove the decoupage glue and paper and replace with a fresh new pattern! Easy!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY! I can’t wait to share some fun campy DIY projects with you next week before I embark on my first camping trip. xo