More furniture renovation

I have bought a cheap bundle of furniture on ebay, advertised as "in need of repair". On closer inspection it was carelessly assembled and unfinished. In other words, a challenge.

I started with the clock, since it would fit nicely into my clockmaker's shop. This is what it looked like and what I did with it:

First of all, since it is kit furniture, it has ugly tabs which I learned how to deal with when I made half-scale kits. I cut off the tabs (picture in the middle) and sandpapered until the surface was smooth. I painted the inside of the clock dark brown, and I painted the pendulum gold. I then stained it with mahogny stain and gave it a coat of varnish. If I had made it from kit I would have glued in "glass" from the inside, but I couldn't do it now, so I cut a piece as neatly as possible. I glued on a face from another clock that I had remade - with this one, it didn't look bad at all. And I covered the places where the tabs were still visible with golden stickers. 

Here it is in the clockmaker's shop - which has developed a lot since I last showed it here: 

 

There are several new long-case, or grandfather clocks which I have improved. There are also several new mantel clocks that I have bought in a bundle from ebay (there are still more models I haven't got so I am hunting for bargains). But I am most proud of two recent additions:

I bought them on the same day from two different sellers. The one on the left is a pen sharpener of brass-like metal. The pendulum moves if you shake the clock, but at least it looks natural. The clock on the right is a collector's item from Durham Industries, of which I could not find much information except that there are lots of miniatures on ebay and elsewhere, and the marking says Durham Industries, New York, Made in Hong Kong 1972.  There is a knob on the back which makes the pendulum move. I think both are lovely and a very good complement to the clockmaker's stock. Items like these, put in the foreground, make a huge difference in a room box or any miniature environment.

More clock makeovers

I need many clocks for my clockmaker's shop, and I was lucky to get a set of four on ebay.

They are not particularly pretty, and who'd want identical clocks in a shop anyway. So my task was to make them all different and attractive. I started with the bigger one and followed instructions from Jean Nisbett's helpful book on converting standard ugly furniture into pretty and unique. Nisbett recommends enamel hobby paint, but I prefer ordinary water-based acryl.

First, I painted the clock dark green. I didn't have the right colour, so I mixed green with brown.

Then I used a coat of lighter green, which I immediately wiped with a cloth, and after it had almost dried, used sandpaper unevenly over the surfaces.  Then I used a coat of varnish.

 

I made the face from a printie, covered with transparent plastic. I used ready-made sticker decorations.

With the second clock, I wasn't as elaborate. I simply stained it with mahogny and varnished. I glued on a wind-up button from a real watch. In the picture below, I placed an original clock by its side to show the difference.

The remaning two clocks I decorated in various ways. I glued some lace on one and painted and varnished it. I deliberately let the original surface show through a bit since it creates a worn effect. The last one I painted with Swedish "country red" which gave it a more noble light-wooden finish. The pendulum is an envelope clip. All faces are from the web.

I also have an original Barton grandfather clock with movable hands, the origin of which I cannot remember, but I know I haven't paid a fortune for it and didn't at that time know it was a Barton (or what Barton was for that matter). It is too big for the clockmaker's shop, and I have always had it in the Victorian house.

Cuckoo clock

For my clockmaker shop, I am renovating all kinds of clocks, and one of them is this: you may recognise it from children's dollhouse accessories. But I have made it over quite substantially, as you can see.

First, obviously, I painted it dark brown, stained with mahogny and varnished. I changed rope to chain. I used a real clock face and real hands, which I must admit I glued on. The tiny wheel on top is a real cogwheel. I think it was worth the effort.

Clockmaker's shop, continued

As I have said repeatedly, a miniature project is never finished, and I am still waiting for an ebay lot of clocks, but I can show details of the clockmaker's shop as they are now. First, there is a table with all kinds of things on it. The table comes from another dollhouse where I have now replaced it with something else. It fits much better here.

The box used to be a yellow plastic shelf from the plastic house. The parts are real clock parts that I use for steampunk jewellery, and so are the clock faces. The tools in tumblers are also tiny clock parts. The magnifying glass, spectacles and chain watch are from various lots.

Now I am going clockwise (sorry, unintended pun!) around the walls.


 
The hourglass is a miniature that I bought long before I started miniature-making. It fits in nicely here. The cuckoo clock - rather ugly - is from an ebay lot. The silver clock is a pin. The ornate mirror is from one of my recent flea market rounds. I have "aged" it by painting it with a thin layer of black watercolor. Mirrors create interesting effects, so I have several very small ones here and there. The bats (Christmas crackers) are for the atmosphere. On the chest (which comes from a serious antique shop):




A pretty notebook somebody gave me. An antique stamp shaped as an owl. Not sure it really fits in, but can stay for a while, as well as the bottle and the chess piece. Three clocks from charity shops.

The white grandfather clock has an interesting history. The metal clock beside is actually working: a battery-powered desk clock. 

The steampunk construction is made from plastic cogwheels that I painted copper. Most clocks are buttons, but the one in the middle is made from a beer can ring. Note the tiny mirror on the right.

The magnificent corner shelf was bought in a thrift shop for 50p. It has a real miniature compass and some other trinkets. The spiders are for atmosphere (luckily, I have no arachnophobia).

Finally, my pride, the large wall clock, made from a picture frame that I painted gold and a pair of crazy earrings donated by someone. The small clock is a button, and its pendulum obviously an envelope clip. The round mirror is old and naturally aged and cracked.

I have just discovered a site with a hundred different antique clock faces. Come back soon!

Clockmaker's shop

Some time ago, after I had watched Hugo Cabret, I decided that I wanted a clockmaker's room box, with a touch of fantasy and steampunk. This coincided with my momentary interest in steampunk jewellery, of which I only made two pieces.

I butchered a couple of old clocks and a broken scanner, yielding a handful of plastic cogwheels which I didn't quite know what to do with. I took an empty wine box and put some random objects in it, including various wall clocks that I had made when I was practicing wall clock-making, as well as a couple of clocks from other houses and boxes. Then I stopped because I couldn't decide on the interior. What kind of floor, wallpaper and ceiling would a steampunk clockmaker have, and what wallpaper would be good for displaying the clocks? I searched the web for images.

Meanwhile, I got some more clocks at flea markets, adding to the room unsystematically. I also got distracted by other projects. Yet the other day I felt that I was ready to start. Reasonably, I started with the ceiling, painting it dark brown and adding beams. I fixed the lamp under the central beam.

The lamp, by the way, is made from a caviar tube. I made it a while ago and so far hadn't used it. The bulb is an eyedrop container, and for the room box I used binding wire.

The floors and wallpaper are printies. It took me ages to decide on the right combination, but I think the wallpaper is perfect for this project. 

Then I just put back everything that I had. 

I will show and explain the details in the next post.