Working Clock Made from a Cigar Box

After the great response I got on the cigar box chest project, I thought you might enjoy another cigar box project that is both decorative and functional.  In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to transform a cigar box into a working clock.

In the project example, I decide to make the lid of the box the clock and the inside a scene.  There are so many options and possible themes for this project.  Instead of having the clock on the front you could have it inside the box.  Instead of creating a scene inside the box you could add matchboxes as drawers and use it to store your treasures.   Last year I posted a tutorial on how to make an ATC Armoire out of a cigar box.  You could combine that project and this so that the lid is the clock and the inside is the ATC storage area.

TUTORIAL

The first thing you need to do is to find a cigar box.  The size of the box is completely up to you.  It just needs to be large enough to accommodate the clock mechanism.  The box I used measures 7” x 6” x 21/4”.

Start by finding the center point of the cigar box lid and drill a hole large enough to accommodate the center piece on the clock mechanism.

I covered all of the surfaces of the box with the Madame Payroud’s 6x6 paper pack.  I love the color scheme and the collage images on this paper. 

Before gluing the paper to the box, I cut up several sheets of paper so that I could re-collage the images on the box.  Using smaller pieces of paper made it easier to fit the paper to the different sized surfaces and to choose where I wanted the images to be placed.

In the picture below you can see the stained edges and the paper attached to all of the surfaces.  Be sure to re-poke the hole for the clock mechanism.

Next, I started work on the front of the box and what will become the face of a clock.  I used a round piece of filigree to frame the center and painted two fancy foliage chipboard embellishments (first with acrylic blue paint then dry brushing Lumiere Old Brass paint).  I painted the egg cup feet with the same paint mixture.

I glued the clock mechanism to the back of the lid.  The clock comes with instructions on how to attach the hands of the clock to the mechanism (it's super simple).

I added the ladies (flipped versions) backed with heavy cardstock for support.  In their hands are filigree pieces with button clocks.  The pediment is made of filigree butterflies.

I painted the butterflies with a combination of Verdigris & Jade Metal Patina paint.  

For the 12, 3, 6 & 9 o’clock positions I used Masonite Eiffel towers.

I first painted the towers with Gold Alcohol Ink.  Metallic Alcohol inks work nicely on slick surfaces like the Masonite.  You could also use the Metal Patina paints.  Next, I stamped the tower using Black Staz-On ink with a crisscross patterned stamp (from my stash).

For the other positions on the clock, I used pearlized stick pins.  I inserted them through the holes in the round filigree piece and glued them in place.

The last step is to attach the hands of the clock.

INSIDE THE BOX

One thing you need to consider when planning what you are going to do with the inside of the box is the position of the clock mechanism on the back of the lid.  Make sure the items inside the box don’t prevent the lid from closing.

For the swing inside the box I used two Eiffel towers for the seat. 

I poked holes in the top of the box to insert the eye pins to hold the swing in place.  I also added some beads to the eye pins.  The image of the girl is bent (as if she is sitting) and glued to the seat.  To keep the seat in place I glued the tip of it to the side of the box on the right.  The girl with the tutu is attached to the back of the box with multiple layers of double-sided foam core tape (to pop her out).

In the picture below you can see the top of the box where the eye pins are ticking through the holes then through a bead and looped to keep the swing in place.

To frame the ladies I collaged together a Masonite Eiffel tower, more pieces of filigree, Dresden myrtle leaves, paper clocks from my Tick Tock collage sheet and other paper images.  The filigree is painted with the same Metal Patina paint that I used on the butterfly pediment.  I built the collage on a flat surface first before attaching it to the box.  To support the collage in the box, I attached the resin gables and then glued the collage to the gables.  The Eiffel tower is glued to the bottom of the box.

On the side of the box I attached two latches to keep the lid closed and attached the egg cup feet to the bottom.

NOTE:  If you attach feet to the bottom of the box, consider the weight of the stuff on the lid of the box versus the weight of the box (without the lid).  If the stuff on the lid weighs a lot more than the stuff in the box, the box will fall forward when you open the lid.  This is only a problem if the box has feet.