Birthday Guest: Heather Manning: Decorative Clocks

Heather Manning

Hey, Stitches Thru Time Peeps! It’s Heather Manning, author of Carried Home and Swept to Sea.

I think that most authors tend to be very creative people, so naturally they might like some types of art. I am one of those authors. Whether it’s painting or coloring or cross-stitching, I find making art soothing. So lately, I have been trying to do a little bit of painting. However, I decided I wanted to do something different than traditional painting on canvas. What did I decide to paint on? The face of a clock!

How does one paint on a clock, you ask? Well, I picked up an old clock at a garage sale that I thought would be perfect for my project. I decided I wanted to paint Cinderella’s castle, because I love Disney, and I mean, Cinderella and clocks go hand in hand, right? (Get it? The clock striking midnight?) 

After I found the perfect clock, I pried the glass face off so I could paint on the surface behind it. I sketched out my design (I had previously done this design for a painting I did a few months ago), which you can see here. 

 

After I had my sketch set, I got to work with the painting. I went for cool, shiny tones and of course a little bit of glitter. Because the shimmering paint is thin, I will need to go add a few more layers of paint before I can add some more detail work.

But anyway, you can get an idea of the finished project from that picture. I was not able to complete the painting yet, because I had to leave for college. But I’ll finish it in a while and make sure to post a picture on my Facebook page for you all to see once it is ready. 

If you’re scared of the idea of using paint, or you just don’t want to go out and buy paint that you might never use again, another option is permanent markers. With permanent markers, you can either draw a design on the glass part of the clock (which gives a really cool stained glass effect) or on the actual face of the clock. If you use the marker on the glass and make a mistake, it’s easy to “erase” with a little bit of rubbing alcohol, so if you’re not comfortable with your drawing skills, you don’t have to worry about messing up. Here’s a design I made a while back.

So, now you know how to make a boring clock interesting again and tailored to your personal style! Think you might try this project sometime in the future? It would also totally be fun for a kid’s or grandkid’s room.  They’d love it and have a fun memory of making it with you!

About the Author: Heather Manning is a young lady who loves to read—and write. She has won multiple competitions for her writing with “Nextgen Writers” and placed first in some writing contests with the “Go Teen Writers” blog and is a proud member of ACFW. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri and goes to college, acts in community theatre, eats donuts, and reads every Inspirational Historical Romance she can get her hands on.