Victorian Corset Shop Altered Alarm Clock Tutorial

As soon as I saw the raw assemblage alarm clock I knew I would have to do something with it.  This month’s Alpha Stamps corset theme gave me the perfect excuse.  There are two things I love about altering a clock; turning a functional item into a piece of art the many surfaces to junk up!

From a theme perspective, I decided on a Victorian corset shop. I didn’t leave a single surface untouched and even added the signpost to stick up beyond the top of the clock.

The clock is accented with gorgeous paper flowers which I chose and Alpha Stamps graciously agreed to carry.  I particularly love the sweet miniature tulips which are perfect for this time of year and for Easter themed projects.

The inside of the clock is super deep so there is lots of room for dimensional embellishments.

Notice the embossed design on the sides of the clock and on the bells.  The tutorial will cover how I achieved the embossed design, the embellishment and re-assembly of the clock.

TUTORIAL

I started by removing the back of the clock and then loosening the screws inside that keep the tabs in place.  The tabs are used to hold the glass against the front of the clock.  I removed the screws and tabs and then removed the glass.  I screwed the screws back in place (as they hold the bells and legs in position) but not the tabs.  Once the clock was altered, I did not intend to open it up again, so I decided I could glue the glass in place rather than using the tabs.  Besides, the tabs are not attractive and get in the way of the embellishments inside of the clock.

The next step was to create the embossed design on the outside of the clock.  I accomplished this by attaching chipboard scrolls, Dresden and stickers to the clock.  If you are going to attach something like chipboard to a curved surface, I suggested you pre-bend the chipboard making it easier to glue in place.

Below, I walk through each step of the embossed design technique using a piece of chipboard, as I thought this would make it easier for you to see how it is done.  This technique can be used on any surface.

First, attach bulky items to your surface.  I used stickers, chipboard scrolls, and Dresden.

Next, paint your surface.  In the case of the clock, I started with white Gesso, as it seems to stick better to the metal than acrylic paint.  I could have used a metal paint but since there was so much surface area, it would have been much more expensive.  This piece is a decorative one so Gesso or acrylic paint should work fine.  If your piece were going to be handled frequently you might want to use metal paint.  It took me 3 coats to block out the silver metal of the clock. 

Next, I started adding color by painting the surface with an off white acrylic paint.

I added more color by dry brushing the surface with green paint (leaving some of the cream showing).

Lastly, I used my finger to apply Gilders Paste to the raised surfaces.

In the picture below you can see the clock painted with the Gesso.  One thing to note is to be careful not to paint the area where the back fits back into the clock.  The back fits snugly and paint buildup will prevent it from fitting into the clock.  I used a little sandpaper to sand away the paint before inserting the back into the clock.

Below are pictures of the finished embossed design technique.  

It now looks like the Dresden, stickers, and chipboard are molded to the clock.  My husband upon see the clock though I had made it from a mold.  I explained that it was a metal shell of a real clock and molding a clock was a little out of my ability.  LOL

I dressed up the bells of the clock with teardrop fused pearls.  The bells made me think of Victorian lamps with hanging beads, which is something I thought a Victorian shop would have.

I absolutely love any kind of signs so I thought adding a chipboard sign to the front of the corset shop would add a perfect touch.

For a final touch, I added a piece of lace to the bottom of the sign.  The sign is glued to the rim of the clock, which was done before adding the flowers.

To decorate the inside of the clock, I first added paper than a 4 inch gold doily.  Next, I applied rub-ons from my stash, and then a clockface popped up with a piece of double-stick foam tape.

I added the image of a woman which is popped up further than the clock, and then the window (popped out even further) which is painted with Picket Fence Crackle paint and backed with an image.  There is lots of room to create as much depth and dimension as you like.

I glued Gold Dresden Myrtle Leaves to the inside of the glass and glued flowers to the inside bottom of the clock.  Once all the pieces were decorated, I glued the glass in position and inserted the back of the clock back into place.   The last step was to decorate the front of the clock with flowers.

On the back of the clock I used an image from The Garden Timeless scrapbook paper and more images from collage sheets and finally paper flowers.