Craft express blog: DECOUPAGED WALL CLOCKS

Hello everyone.
It seems yesterday that we send new year wishes to each other and its already the 10th day of 2018. Time flies indeed !!!!
And to tell the time, we have wall clocks.
Handmade clocks are always unique and enhance the decor in style.
Today I would be sharing step wise procedure to create a decoupaged wall clock .

Decoupage is a wonderful technique to create home decor products.
Some time back, I made a wall clock for a client.
Considering the humid weather of Mumbai, the base material used was clear acrylic.
You can use a mdf base as well.
Since the wall clock was for the kitchen space, I decided to give it the shape of chopping board. The shape was laser cut from the clear acrylic sheet. The arrangement to fix the clock machine and hang the clock were made as well.

Step-1
The first step was to cover the base with gesso. Gesso acts as a primer, giving tooth to the paint and is also must when you plan to decoupage on non porous surfaces like glass or acrylic.
I have used chalk paint from home decor (colour- sheep skin. its a lovely off white colour ) instead of gesso.
Chalk paints are acrylic paints with chalky matt finish and properties of gesso.
So if u choose to work with chalk paint, gesso can be avoided.
Next I decided on the print of tissue that I wished to adhere.

Step -2
I wanted distressed look to go with the tissue print. Decoupage is not just about adhering a paper to the surface. The work gets depth and dimension only when the paper merges with the background.
Here I used distressing technique for the background. Apply black acrylic paint, where the distressed look is desired. Refer to the pictures for details.

Step -3

The next step is to adhere the selected tissue. Always tear the tissue with hand, do not use scissors. This gives a natural look and it merges well with the surface. Mildly sand the surface with fine sand paper to get a smooth surface, before laying the tissue.

I have adhered the tissue, using decoupage glue from Plaid called Mod Podge (matt finish).

When laying a tissue, always work in parts, to get a wrinkle free output.

Give a drying time of about 1 hour and then apply the top coat of mod podge over the tissue. The top coat seals the paper ( tissue here ) and prevents it from yellowing.

Note mod podge is to applied only on the tissue and not the surrounding painted area.

Step-4

Now its time to further work on the background to give depth and dimension. I have done some colour blending with a shade of yellow acrylic paint. The leaf image is a stamping done with green archival ink. Have also stamped the quote- the sweet life with black archival ink. Some texture is added through stencil, on the handle part using texture paste.

Embellishments make a world of difference. Here I have embellished with paper flowers, twine, metal charm and a cute cork bird. Kept it minimal though to make it maintenance friendly.

Step- 5

Leave the product for 24 hrs. Now the next day varnish the entire clock, both the paper and the painted area with water based varnish. Apply at least two coats with drying time in between. I have used Aquadur wood varnish from Asian paints. Its time to make it functional now. I adhered the foam numbers and fixed the clock machine and hands. Here is the final look of a cheerful, wall clock for kitchen.