Guest post: my sister, Kelsey! The three legged table is back with a whole new look!

Kels and her husband

Well I feel completely honored to have a guest spot on this blog. I am no where close to my sister's talent, but I like to think sometimes that I got a little bit of her decorating niche in me- and I do mean very little! My ward was doing their annual craft Saturday and since I was on the committee I was in charge of putting together some type of craft. After searching the Internet I decided to be bold and take on the task of making an antique clock. I had always wanted a big clock so I decided, 'Might as well make it!' After doing much research and experimenting with a few different things I finally was able to complete this project! I love the way it turned out and am so proud to say that I made it myself! It is very inexpensive to make and it will be even less expensive if you have one of those oh so common table tops that Melissa has found numerous uses for already! Here we go!

Items Needed:

1 20" round table top

1 tube of dark base acrylic paint

1 tube of a lighter acrylic paint for the top coat

Paint Brush

Sponge brush

Clock Movement- 3/8 inch

6 inch clock hands

Vinyl lettering

I started off by priming the table top. After it was dried, I applied two coats of this dark Espresso color acrylic paint. (Pictured on the left)

After letting the two coats dry completely I used the sponge and country tan paint color (both pictured above) to apply the top coat. I poured the paint onto a foam paper plate and lightly dabbed the sponge into the paint and then dabbed it a few times onto an empty space on the plate, just so the paint didn't go on too heavily. Then I just started in one area of the clock and spread it around. I didn't concentrate on getting all the paint distributed in the exact same way because I was going for the "antique" look. Besides, then you can't tell if you accidentally make a mistake! =)
After sponging on your top coat, let it dry completely. After it is dried you can put on your actual clock parts. You can buy the clock movement at Michael's or Joanne Fabrics, but I'm sure any craft store carries them. If you are using the table for your base you will need to get the movement that measure for 3/8" thickness. Follow the instructions on the back of the package to assemble. The clock hands were a little bit more difficult to find for this size of a clock. I ordered them through a website called Walnut Hollow. They are 6 inches in size.


For the clock numbers you need to find someone who does vinyl lettering. There are numerous websites that do them. I chose to have roman numerals for the numbers and I also decided I wanted to have my last name and the year I got married in the middle to give it some more decoration.


Finding the exact place on where you place the numbers can be a little tricky, but with a few math formulas you can figure it out! Since this is a 20" clock I took the formula 2 x 3.14 x 10(radius)= the circumference. Then, since there are 12 numbers I divided the circumference measurement by 12 and came out with about 5.2 inches for the space in between the numbers. It might sound a little complicated but this is the only way to make sure that it will keep time accurately. I used a 5.2 inch string to measure around the edge of clock and placed the middle of each vinyl number at each 5.2 inch marking. After putting your math skills to work you are ready to pop the battery into your clock and.....TADA!!!


You have your very own home-made 20" Antique Clock! I also have pictured below one of my friends' clock. Jill used a little different technique, combining sponging paint and crackle paint. She went a little bit lighter on the top coat then I did and it looks great!


Here is a little bit closer view of the sponge paint. I really liked the effect this had on the clock. I tried crackle paint as an experiment but I ended up going with the sponge because it was less stressful for me and I liked this look better! But I saw some girls use the crackle paint and it did look AWESOME!

So there you have it! It really is not that complicated and it only takes about 3-4 hours to make. And instead of paying up to $100 in stores for a clock this size, it only cost me $26! And it would only cost you about $15 if you already have a table top. I love the way it looks in my apartment and I cherish it even more because I made it! And trust me- if I can pull it off- ANYONE can! Happy clock-making! =)