A Mid-Century Modern Clock (and Ani’s Nursery)
You don’t really think I have any idea what mid-century modern means, right? I’ve only seen it on Pinterest. Sounds nice, though. And when I opened up the box of Martha Stewart Decoupage (a word I will never learn to spell) materials and saw the rolls of faux-wood paper, it was the first word that popped into my mind.
Also, one of the other MBA wives (and instant friend), Jessica gave me a huge pile of stuff to take to Goodwill and said I could have anything out of the pile I wanted.
Well, you don’t have to make an offer like that twice. And this clock, which was still in its box, was just dying for a little makeover.
Now that I can’t see my kitchen clock from every room in my apartment, I find myself fighting the urge to mount a clock in every room in the house.
I’d never done any decoupaging before, but opening the box of supplies made me want to decopague everything in my house – as usual Martha has the coolest products. They’re even dishwasher safe, so obviously I need to do another project where I can test this out since I don’t plan to run my clock through the dishwasher.
Like all projects I do, this was a really easy one.
I used:
- One Goodwill-bound clock
- Paintbrush
- White acrylic paint
- Martha Stewart Gloss Finish Decoupage
- Martha Stewart Crafts® Wood Grain Decoupage Paper (all of the decopauge line is available at Michael’s)
- Scissors or a large circular hole punch
- Number stencils (I love these reusable adhesive ones I got for this project last year – I’ve used them a dozen times or more for various projects)
- Gold acrylic paint
1. Start with a clock that is NOT your style at all.
2. Paint your clock with white acrylic paint (I needed about three coats). I didn’t bother taping off the hands because I could just scrape the paint off as needed. Let it dry.
3. Cut 12 circles out of the wood decoupage paper (a hole punch makes this WAY easier. I’ve definitely gotten my $5 out of this thing). Paint a thin, even coat of decoupage onto the clock face, then quickly arrange your circles around the edge. Let dry completely.
4. Paint a thick coat of decoupage over the top to seal and let dry.
5. Attach your stencils to the appropriate circles, then fill them in with gold paint. You’ll probably need 2-3 coats. As soon as you’ve finished the last coat, remove the stencils. Let dry completely.
And if I’m showing you the clock hanging in the nursery, you might as well see the entire nursery, right? Right.
We bought this dresser at a garage sale in Texas, and, after haggling down to half the price (total = $15), discovered it wouldn’t fit in our car. So then the guy who sold it to us offered to just bring it over in his truck. People in Texas are super nice.
My mom read me the Laura Ingalls Wilder series when I was five or six, checking them out of the library one by one. The next year, the library replaced their set and my mom bought these from the library sale for 25 cents each. If there was a house fire, these would be high on my list of things to grab.
This closet with room to spare? Fills my heart with glee. We had a total of three closets in our apartment (one of them being the pantry/hall closet) so having a closet that isn’t jammed to the brim is pretty much the best thing ever.
I originally had these stars hanging above Ani’s crib, but after about an hour, I took them down. I was just too nervous about them falling or the tacks dropping out or the string falling on her, etc (and I’m not a particularly nervous parent. I don’t even use carseats (I kid. Of COURSE I use carseats)).
- Curtain: Pottery Barn Kids (left by the previous occupants – when I discovered how much curtains cost, we just went with it)
- Prints: from a poster of this book
- Frames: Michaels
- Crib: Amazon (gift from my parents)
- Bumpers and Chair Pillow: Made by my mom
- Glider: Bought on Craig’s List
- Basket: Ross
- Baby: Made by me
- Blankets: Made by various friends and relatives
- Dresser: Bought at a garage sale
- Red pitcher: Sur La Table (gift from my mom)
- Ferns: Michaels
- Little House book series: Wisconsin library sale in 1992
- Baby shoes: H&M (gift from Landen)
- Stars: Made by me (the wood ones are using the leftover decoupage paper)
Check out other fun projects and products on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Plaid’s blog.
I'm so jealous of your little house books! My set is not nearly that pretty!!!!
Wow what a beautiful home 😀 Love it~
Those LIW books were a great save!
I love the Little House books on the dresser! Growing up, my mom and I would read a chapter or two each night (they're the books she used to teach me how to read!).
Look what you did with a clock that sat untouched in our tiny apartment closets for 5 years! 🙂 What a darling nursery, too.
You were nice to pass it on! Now I'm wishing I'd kept BOTH of the clocks you had in that pile.
I adore the fabric your mom used for the chair pillow and bumpers. Any idea where she found it?
It was either Hancock or Joann's. I'll check and see!
I love the clock makeover and the tour of the nursery. Your Laura Ingalls Wilder collection is priceless!
This is so beautiful! Totally inspiring.
I am so, so jealous of your Little House books. Swooooon!
I love the stars! I made similar ones of Christmas card stock last year. I agree with not hanging them above her bed though. We are in nursery planning mode and I have an idea for a sign I want to put above the crib and we (Hubs and I) are super nervous about hanging anything on the wall above the crib, so I think I will just have the saying made into a vinyl wall decal or something. Stress off my shoulders!
LOVELOVELOVE that you have the vintage Laura Ingalls Wilder books! Another of my all time favorites!
I will definitely post the nursery reveal when it's done! It's such a cute/exciting theme but we are keeping it a secret/surprise for family. So the room will just go from drab to fab, with no progress pics or tutorials. Womp! Oh well, it'll be fun and I can't wait to see it altogether myself!
I sure wish my previous tenants had left me some Pottery Barn shades. Goodness, those are lovely!
I like the way you decorate: clean, colorful and just… YOU! Even though we've never "met" officially I feel like this is very much your style.
And my mom read me those books, too. I have the set in hardcover. They are something to be treasured absolutely. Since Ingalls spent a large part of her life in MN there are a few restored homesteads, great places to visit 🙂