$5 Clock
I saw this huge clock at the Valley Fire Relief Center and knew I had to have it. It reminded me of JAG when he was a little boy. He used to strap on a set of cardboard wings I made for him, climb up on the fireplace hearth (which seemed like a mountain to him at the time, although it was just a foot or so off the ground), and jump. He'd yell at the top of his lungs "To infinity and beyond!", and then run around the house like crazy, arms spread wide. Geez, I love that movie Toy Story! Those were fun days! I also love this clock because that word "infinity" is especially important to me for a number of reasons since we lost everything in the fire. Anyway...I saw it and grabbed it quick, so excited that I would have it for our new home (once we got there!).
So you might imagine my disappointment when I put batteries in...and it didn't work! Ugh! I was pretty emotional at the time, and so I started crying, but then I decided that was silly since all I had to do was install a new clock motor! It's easy...just go online or to most any craft store and purchase one of these clock movement kits for about $7. I have the Michael's app on my phone and there are always coupons, so I think my kit was only $5. They come in different sizes...so you might actually want to remove the existing clock motor first and measure the shaft before you buy (see diagram below, if you don't know what I mean by the shaft). I forgot to do that, so I just bought the biggest one since I had a big clock. The size of the shaft really depends on how thick your clock face is.
You'll have to determine the best way to get the existing motor off. First, take hands off the front of the clock, You can usually pull them right off. Then turn it over and loosen up some screws. My clock is fairly complex and I had to remove several screws. If you look at the directions on the back of the package, you can see exactly what you need to do in order to take apart the clock movement, and then put it back together.
While my clock was apart, I decided to give it a paint job. I love the Krylon Chalk Spray Paint and distress technique I used on my Vintage Look Hardware Bin, so I did that same thing. I decided it was a bit too dark, however, so I gave it a whitewash with the only thing I had on hand: some white craft paint I found at our rental. All I did was dampen a rag, dab a little paint on it, and then rub it all over the clock. You have to work quickly and keep adding dabs of paint and wetting the rag from time to time, but this is an easy way to lighten things up a bit. You can see the difference in the finish of the clock and hardware bin when they are side by side.
All done! In the end, this clock cost me a whopping $5, plus the spray paint (which I already had on hand). Here it is, hanging above a desk that a friend gave us for our rental (I need to find some industrial baskets for those shelves!). I really love the clock...but I love the photo on the shelf below it even more. Mr. TBG's mom's house burned down, too - and she saved this one from the fire. <3
