Thursday, September 11, 2014

Assemblage Clock

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you'll get comfortable and stay awhile, since this is bound to be a long post with lots of photos.  Linda and the Curiosity Crew at CC3C had a great time altering Tim's cool Assemblage Clock and bet that we will, too. A selected Curiosity Crew's Choice winner will receive a fabulous assortment of Tim's products, compliments of Tim and Mario.  And Linda, the owner of The Funkie Junkie Boutique is offering a generous $25 shopping spree to her shop to one lucky winner!  She treats her clients to fabulous customer service--it's always a pleasure to shop at the Boutique. Be sure to visit each crew members' blogs to see how their clocks rock!

You can see instructions for the clock on page 33 of Tim's inspirational book A Compendium of Curiosities, Vol. 3, but we can't give away the details.  You just have to pick up this awesome book for yourself to get instructions for many fabulous techniques and plenty of great inspiration.

While assembling  the insides of my clock was a bit of a challenge (my old Bakelite ornaments are extremely fragile), I think my biggest dilemma was deciding which way to go with this assemblage-Halloween or Christmas.  In the end,  I was inspired by Candy's vintage Christmas clock and a vintage Christmas scene was my choice. I used this  vintage card, mercury glass beads and ornaments, and vintage angels as my inspiration.


Yes, some of these (I have 5, but all wouldn't fit) had some damage, but it goes to that "life- lived" idea I love about vintage things--embrace imperfection.


First, I painted my clock inside and out with gesso, bronze fabric paint (that's all I had in this color!), gold Distress paint, and Christmas red acrylic paint, allowing all layers to dry thoroughly between applications.  When dry, I applied crackle glaze and allowed this to dry. Then I rubbed  various colored metallic rubs here and there, then topped it with Rock Candy Crackle Paint randomly to give some areas of more intense crackling.  The inside of my back plate became my test area to see how different paints and glazes would react with one another.


 For the background,I stamped my Christmas flourish paper with a Christmasy flourish from CTMH  in Brilliance Platinum Planet ink, then distressed with walnut Distress Ink.  This hardly shows in the end, but is one of those details that make a difference when you peek inside.  I never like to skimp on the details.  I cut my vintage glittered snowflake to fit and glued it on.



For the "walls" I used a couple of angels from a book and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" from an antique "Church Hymns" book adhered to a snowflake print paper, distressed with Distress Ink and the spritz and flick technique, texture paste and stencils. I attached a tiny star from my stash using gold thread stuck through a tiny hole.

Looking from the back opening to the front once the glass was replaced and the walls installed.


I added rub-ons to the glass, and had to redo them when my assemblage didn't go in as planned.



After the glass was replaced and the "walls" glued up, I decorated the outside using pieces of some old Christmas picks, some antiqued Tim Idea-ology paper twine, bells from my stash, and an Idea-ology word disc, antiqued and crackled and attached using an antique glass ornament hardware piece.



Sorry for the blurries; I was trying to show the way I fastened this tag.


I had to really work at getting the layers right inside the clock.  I wanted the harpist to appear to be floating, so I made a wire cage to hold her, beads and a vintage gold mercury glass ornament. She was not glued to the backing, but this rather gave another layer to the scene.

I made and painted clay bases for my other two angels and glued them in first, then some of the larger white/silver ornaments.  The tiny multi-colored glass beads were then put in, the wire cage with the harpist next ,and then I replaced the backing.

You can peek in and see the angel on the wall holding the Christmas tree.  You can also see I broke one of the harp strings!

The words you see on this wall is the first verse of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing".


I hope you enjoyed my little clock as much as I did making it.  It will be a special homemade Christmas gift to my family.

I am entering this in The Compendium of Curiosities 3, Challenge #10.

A special thank you to my husband, Krystal and Marion in my hour of need!  Our computer died just after I finished, and I did not think I would be able to enter this challenge.  Krystal and Marion generously offered their computers to me and my husband got us up and running in just over 24 hours, even with his busy schedule.  Thank you so much!

24 comments:

  1. I love the richness of the reds and golds on the outside of your clock. Great idea using rub ons on the glass. Beautiful.
    Julie x

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  2. Oh Sara...I adore your altered clock...full of vintage yumminess... Your beautiful Bakelite ornaments look right at home in your fab festive display...and the rich red and bronze crackle is gorgeous!! x

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    1. Thank you so much! I'm happy you like my clock assemblage. So much fun!

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  3. What a fantastic holiday clock this is! Your attention to detail is amazing. Love all those wonderful bits inside and the fact that you did the inner walls of the clock too. Plus you've decorated the outside wonderfully. Your crackle is perfect!

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    1. Wow! Thank you for all your kind words! It was so fun to make and a pleasure when it all came together. I've really enjoyed all the inspiration from all the team and the entries, alike.

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  4. Beautiful alteration, love the Christmas theme and how vintage the whole look is... Thanks for playing along with the CC3 Challenge and hope to see you again soon x

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    1. I really appreciate your kind words. What a fun project this was...so glad for the inspiration, or else that clock would still be sitting in the bag from the store! What great pieces everyone made!

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  5. I adore this! The Christmas theme, and the angels are just super to see! Gorgeous piece! Thank you so much for joining us in the Assemblage Clock challenge at CC3Challenge!!!

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    1. Thank you so much for your sweet comments. It was a pleasure to join in the challenge, and have really enjoyed visiting everyone's blogs...I think I have a few more entries to look at! Love them all!

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  6. I love vintage Christmas decorations. This is fabulous!!

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  7. Oh my this is a Christmas wonderland you have created! I love all the little ornaments and decorations you fit into the cavity and the outside is gorgeous as well!

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    1. Thank you for your nice comment. This was such a fun challenge, with great inspiration from the team and from the other entries.

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  8. Sara this is an amazing piece! Love the outside. Especially love all the detail on the inside walls...reminds me of when I went to Italy, just stunning. A great vintage feel and what could be better than our favourite time of year...Christmas. Great work! Karen.x

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    1. Karen, thank you for your sweet comment...I'm glad you were reminded of your visit to Italy. That was exactly what I was trying to achieve on the walls. Again, I am blessed by your kind words.

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  9. This is a wonderful Christmas themed clock! Love all your little details and the exterior is fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing with us at CC3C!

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    1. Thank you, Yvonne, that is a lovely comment and makes me feel good about my work/play!

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  10. Sara....your vintage Christmas themed clock is GORGEOUS! Oh my goodness! I love your thought process in creating this piece. The interior is so detailed with the little angels and the bits of "Hark the Herald" words on the interior walls. That is so clever! Your sweet little vintage angels that you ended up using inside are so sweet and perfectly placed. I love the little mercury glass colored Christmas ornaments, the gold harp and the snowflakes and dangling little gold star! Your exterior of your clock is also gorgeous! I so love that old traditional red color and the crackling and gold accents really help "sell" this as a vintage piece. :) I also love the old holly pic and the distressed baker's twine bow at the top. This really does make me smile and I KNOW your family will love having it added to your Christmas decorations! Thanks for sharing with all of us at CC3C. <3 Candy

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    1. Candy,
      Your comments to everyone are so sweet and come from the heart. I really appreciate you visiting and for leaving such nice words and noticing little details. I'm happy it made you smile. Thank YOU for your part in inspiring me to make this clock--it was such fun, and at times, so frustrating!

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  11. Wow Sara, this is HEAVENLY beautiful... love all the details and the angels even on the inside of the rounded part... great in all ways... what a piece that you will for years on end... love it all... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

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    1. Thank you, Bonnie! You are so kind! Looks like you've been quite busy and I can't wait to sit down with a cup in the morning and look at a few of your posts. Always so inspiring!

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  12. Oh my, Sara, your clock is absolutely stunning, I love the Christmas theme, the Angels are wonderful and the outside of your clock is simply divine! Anne x

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    1. Anne,
      Thank you so much for visiting and for your sweet comment. I really appreciate it! Sara Emily

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Thank you for leaving your comments...they mean so much to me.