Going back - Months ago I started thinking how I want a clock above my fireplace. I've had many different things above my mantel but nothing ever seemed right to me.
Enter this clock I saw online:
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I knew this would look amazing above our fireplace but that price tag, woah, way outta my budget. I then went to Pinterest and started searching planked clocks. I saw a few and they seemed easy enough (thanks to my super handy hubby) and decided to give one a try. I don't have a full tutorial for this, but I'll explain how I made it.
I didn't follow any set plans, just went to Home Depot and picked up some wood and had them cut it there
Once I had that done, Rick helped me glue the boards together. Once dry, he cut out my giant circle
From there I stained it a dark brown, jacobean to be exact, and after that dried I painted on some cream/white paint we had already. I wanted a distressed look so I scuffed it up in some areas and even used a screwdriver to bang it up as well.
Now for the hard part - I wanted my roman numerals to be big, metal pieces rather than just paint them on (which would have been soooo much easier and cheaper) so the hunt was on for that. I ended up finding a seller on Etsy that wasn't too pricey so I ordered those and went ahead and purchased this spray paint to paint them.
When I was ready, I used gorilla glue to glue the numbers to the clock. Then came the next obstacle. I wanted this to be a working clock because it was going to be such a big statement piece I just thought that made sense. I originally ordered a clock motor and hands off Amazon and when it came, the thread shaft (the part in back that sticks through your clock) was too short to fit through my wood which is about 3/4" thick.
So I found a different clock motor that had a longer shaft (no pun intended) and when it came, the hardware that was sent with it didn't fit. I was getting frustrated at this point because I just wanted the clock DONE. So my awesome hubby drilled a hole in the back of the clock so we could use the original clock motor.
And with that, the clock was now complete! Well, almost. I wanted the clock to hang on the fireplace wall, not just sit on the mantle. so Rick had to drill a hole into our stone and place a nail in it. Then we added a sawtooth picture hanger on the back of the clock, and now it was done!
I am in love with this clock so much! I know it's not really close to the one I originally saw, but I think I love it even more. I love the fact that we created this beautiful piece for our home. Can I say love anymore??
After this was all said and done, Rick remembered Menards sells already cut large circles of wood - that would have been nice to know 6 months ago :)
I think this is one piece of decor that will be sticking around for a long time :)
*linking up with Our Pretty Little Girls & Sweet Parrish Place