Birthday Time

I mentioned in a previous post that I had been pretty busy in July with my kid's birthday "cards" and travel.  Here is an assemblage piece I made for one of my twin's birthday "cards".  I made this for my son, who turned 16.

I am entering this at Craft Hoarders Anonymous who is looking for use of up cycled items on our projects.  I bought this old broken clock at a yard sale a while back, knowing it would make one fine project some day.  Well, that day came when I needed something to wish my son a very happy, very special birthday. I wish I had taken before pictures, or at least pictures as I was making it. But there were many late nights and early mornings frantically trying to complete this and his sister's "cards" before the big day, and trying to get ready to go out of town on top of all the usual work, housework, errands, etc. of daily life.  So, no time for even giving thought to taking pictures at the time. I was in "deadline" mode. I really should give more thought to these projects before 2 weeks before their birthday, since there are two to make.

I started by painting and distressing the clock body, after removing all the insides. The clock started out as this shabby chic pinkish orange color (not my son's thing). I used acrylic paints and sandpaper for this part. Just using a foam brush and regular brown paint gave it a wood grain effect, I think. I added felt to the bottom.

 The inside background was transformed into a townscape with a clockface sky. For this I used Tim Holtz' Kraft Core paper, embossed with Tim's Sizzix clock Texture Fade, then sanded, and cut to fit the inside (easier said than done).  I did this for the inside back and all around the  inside circumference.   I had to make a little platform for the vials to sit on (they wouldn't stand up on the rounded inside).  I covered that with the same paper; embossed and distressed in the same way.   Allsorts Challenge blog challenges us to use our favorite crafty things on our work, and die cuts are one of my favorites. I had some  grunge board clock hands leftover from another project in my stash (Tim's Sizzix Bigz clock die).  I swiped them with Distress Paint and  stamped these with  a wood grain stamp by All Night Media (a favorite stamp). I also die cut a Townscape  from  kraft cardstock using  Tim's Sizzix On The Edge die and swiped it with Distress Paint. This was cut to fit the background, and  I glued it and the clock hands in place. I glued 3 stars from my stash on the background. The clock hands are purposefully off center and  point to 5 after 16 o'clock. (smile--if you knew my son, you'd get it) I have a collection of old grungy chains I picked up either  along the road while out running or at yard sales, and I used one to edge the inside of the clock to cover the seam. This one happens to already be rusty-great!

I used 2 vials (one from my stash and one from Tim Holtz): one I filled with  Idea-ology wishbones and wrapped some silver cording around the neck.  I stamped the word "wishes" from a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous single stamp, cut out, and. edged with Black Soot Distress Ink. I glued this to the vial.  The second vial I labelled with Tim Holtz  Idea-ology Remnant Rubs "love you". I glued 3 foil hearts (stash item) on some red thread and hung that inside this vial. ( I have borrowed the idea of using  the wishbones and hearts from 2 separate projects I've seen on Pinterest--sorry-don't know who exactly to give credit to, but thanks--my son thinks I'm a genius!) Both vials were glued into place. All items glued using my favorite glue--Crafter's Pick the Ultimate! by api.

Now for the outside. I used another one of those chains from my stash, and glued it around the front.  I used some alcohol ink by Ranger on Tim's Idea-ology numerals and glued them on one side. I die cut a gear from Tim's gears Bigz die, and inked it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink followed by embossing ink and Peeled Paint Distress Embossing Powder.  I wanted to go for a rusted look, but our craft stores don't sell Vintage Photo EP. Oh, well. I attached a key printed with Journey (probably Tim's, but I got in in a bunch of junk at a yard sale), which I swiped with Distress Paint and wiped the excess off. I used a Tim Holtz  Idea-ology fastener and jump ring to do this. The words "Birthday Time" are from a sheet of stickers I had in my stash. The word "Happy" usually associated with "Birthday" was missing, but I liked the idea of tying in the word "Time" with the clock. Country View Challenge blog challenges us to use word play in this month's challenge, and I'm taking this opportunity to make a play on words here.  Another play on words is by using the "journey" key and the Tim Holtz Idea-ology  wordplate "enjoy the journey" which I altered like the key and glued to the base.  My son's favorite band is Journey. He didn't know I knew this about him and thought this was just a coincidence--ha! He doesn't know me!  Everything has meaning. Brownie points for knowing his favorite band, too!

Moving along to the back, there is an opening where you could, at one time, access the "guts" of the clock.  I painted a piece of watercolor paper using Distress Ink, and attached a quote printed on vellum to it.   The author of the quote is Karyn Ravn. I cut this and a piece of thick plastic (cut from packaging) to fit the opening.  I think the quote is perfect  inspiration for a young man bordering on adulthood. I signed it from Mom and Dad.

I'm so happy to say my son loves his  birthday clock assemblage I made for him. It was so much fun for me to create, not knowing at all how it would end up. I'll soon be posting on my daughter's "card", which I had a little more of a vision for before I made it.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes, Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge 13 Let's Cycle--Up-cycle, That Is!, Country View Challenges Word Play, and Allsorts Challenge #270 Favourite Things.