Vintage Inspired DIY Clock Faces
Make beautiful vintage inspired clock faces with minimal craft supplies and free printables. Tuck these DIY timepieces around your home for timely inspiration!
True vintage time pieces are not only difficult to find, but can cost a pretty penny. These vintage inspired clock faces are not only created from free printables, but they're easy to grunge to give them your custom vintage touches! Read on for the full tutorial, including my insider tips!
How to make vintage inspired clock faces
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I was inspired to create my own collection of vintage inspired clock faces
because it would take a million dollars to build a collection overnight
considering what the thrift stores are charging these days! I'll definitely be
keeping my eyes open when I'm thrifting, but these paper and wood clock faces
are based on originals and I think they're really great dupes!
What does this tutorial include?
Below you'll find the following:
- free printable sources for true vintage clock faces
- step by step instructions for creating vintage inspired clock faces
- Insider Tips each step of the way, to give you the greatest chance of success!
- my favorite tricks to add a little extra grunge that give these faux time pieces true vintage charm
- tips for styling and decorating with vintage clock faces in your home
Supplies
- printable clock faces in a vintage style
- black chalk paint
- wood rounds
- cardboard
- scissors
- baking soda
- brown, black acrylic paints
- small detailed craft brush
- metallic gold paint or gold rub n buff
- mod podge or white school glue
- sandpaper
I had all my supplies on hand, so this was a freebie project for me, which I
always love! I know you're wondering about sources for the variety of clock
faces that I used.
Sources
You can do your own Google searches for free printable clock faces to use at
home. These are the ones that I used. Each of the images I printed are based
on true vintage timepieces.
- this collection of clock faces from The Graphics Fairy
- this set of vintage clock pieces from Fine Craft Guild
Directions
While the supplies list may look lengthy, it's filled with very basic crafting
supplies which you probably already own. The wood rounds can be thicker ones
like I used, or any thin wood rounds you can find at Dollar Tree, Walmart or
craft stores.
Here is an overview of the steps in image form, which I'll break down below.
Step 1 - printables
Find and print your clock faces. If you'll be adhering them to a wood or
cardboard background, print onto regular copy paper. If they'll be standing
alone, I recommend printing onto card stock. Print in full color, as many of
the vintage clock face printables have a sepia colored background.
Insider tip - if you'll be using wood rounds, check your sizes before
printing and adjust as needed
Step 2 - paint or stain
Give the edges of any natural wood rounds you'll be using a coat or two of
black paint. You can also choose to use a wood stain or even a quick swipe of
watered down brown paint.
Insider tip - burnt umber is my craft paint of choice when I want to
mimic stain!
Step 3 - apply printables
Use mod podge or white craft glue to adhere the printed clock faces to a wood
round or cardboard base. To get perfectly even edges, I like to rub the edge
with sandpaper to remove any excess paper, but only do this once glue has
dried.
Insider tip - use a foam brush to apply an even and thin layer of
glue to the wood round, being sure to go all the way to the edges.
Step 4 - seal
To protect the printed paper, I highly recommend brushing on a light coat of
mod podge, or white craft glue which dries clear. This will keep the paper
from tearing as you handle and style the pieces.
Step 5 - textured paint faux rust
To add some faux rusted spots to the clock faces, mix up some textured paint.
I used two different brown paints (a dark umber and a medium chestnut), along
with about 1 tsp of baking soda.
Mix together until color is to your liking. The baking soda adds a little bit
of grit which makes the spots look rusted. Use a brush to dab the fake rust
along the edges of the clock face, and even in the center if you wish. How
grungy you choose to go is completely up to you, and you can leave this step
out entirely.
Insider tip - dab the paint in thick layers to build up the rusted look,
but a dry brush is best to add a little extra grungy color to the clock
face
Step 6 - a touch of gold
Another optional step is to add some gold touches to the clock faces. I really
like the dimension this adds. Along with the rusted spots, the texture
increases the vintage look of these faux timepieces, and the gold adds a
little timeless elegance.
Insider tip - apply the gold sparingly and unevenly for a truly vintage
feel
Tips for success:
- Let each step of glue and paint dry before moving on
- Work in batches so each clock face gets the same treatment at the same time - this will actually save you time in the long run!
- Don't have any wood rounds? Cut out simple cardboard backs using cracker or cereal boxes! This is a great way to recycle and make this DIY on a budget!
- When applying the painted rust and gold, start small then assess. You can always add more, but you won't be able to remove the paint once applied.
- Don't skip the mod podge step! This not only protects the paper printables from tears, stains, water...it also adds a little gloss which gives dimension to the paper clock faces!
- If you want to really take it up a notch, you can drill a small hole in the center of your wood round and add a genuine set of clock hands and even turn it into a functioning clock! Be sure to check the size to ensure it will work with your vintage inspired timepiece!
I styled the faux vintage timepieces on a white painted cubby in my office. Vintage books, baskets, and even the brass hardware emphasize the vintage theme.
Insider tip - a metal flower frog is a great way to display the paper
clocks!
I love all the textures, and the faux timepieces fit right in, don't you
think? A cubby or cabinet with drawers is a great piece to style these vintage
inspired clocks.
Many of these pieces were thrifted and then reimagined in some way. The 80's
basket that resembles a fishing creel had pink and blue stripes that I painted
over with chalk paint. I love making things look old!
The little apothecary style cubby I made with small Dollar Tree drawers has a
vintage look to it as well (click
here
for the tutorial). The
hardware is from Amazon, and was less than $10 a package!
I layered the clock faces, resting the solid wood ones first, then the ones that are just printed onto card stock. I think I'll go back and add sturdy cardboard backs to those ones.
I hope you're inspired to make some of your own vintage inspired clock faces!
Let me know in the comments below, it is always motivating for me when I hear
from you!
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bringing beauty to the ordinary,
Wow - these turned out beautifully!~
ReplyDeleteBrilliant as always!
ReplyDelete