DIY wall clock – in progress

Wall clock ~{A clock mounted on a wall}

We do not tell the time in our new container home! We just go on about our business without any indication really of what the time is except from our mobiles.

So a clock has become a necessity. And not just any store-bought clock will do for Lilly Loompa. It has to be hand-made and obviously made with recycled material.

I made another wall clock a few years ago with a fish-can. See it Tuna can clock.

This one is still in progress, but here is a quick preview:

To be continued…

And it grew on the wall…

A few weeks ago I posted on my plan to create wall art made of toilet rolls.  Yesterday I finally had some time to tackle this exciting project.  Well actually I didn’t have time as we had a team of volunteers from FNB on site (as previous volunteer days). I was appointed as the designated caterer and tea lady.  So in between meal times, I tackled this exciting project.  I was itching to get started. So I started with the following items:

1. ± 26 empty toilet rolls (You can gather as many as you like. This was the total I had gathered since beginning June)
2. scissors
3. pencils
4. ruler
5. Glue gun or craft glue (I find the glue gun works better as it doesn’t mess and you can work faster)

Items needed

As explained in my previous post, flatten each toilet roll/tube.  Measure 1.5 cm spaces in between and draw the lines.

Draw lines in equal spaces

Cut the measured strips.

Cut the strips

This is how it looks when it is cut.  This is really cool.  Play around with it to find the shapes you like. Start heating up the glue gun.

Toiletpaper flowers

Use the glue gun and glue the pieces together.  Please be careful, the glue is really hot!

Glued shapes

Don’t glue all the shapes together otherwise the unit will be to big to work with.  Then came lunch time and I had to start cracking with the sarmies for the volunteers!

Ham sandwiches for lunch

Ok, back to business.  So I completed all the gluing.  As always I had to test the waters as mentioned here as well.

Testing the waters on the bed.

Testing the waters on the wall

I realised the wall looked to bare like that.  So I decided to paint a frame on the wall as a backdrop.  So I used masking tape and measured a rectangle.  I painted it with Dulux paint.  I used a tester pot and the colour is Bleached Lichen 3.

Paint a frame on the wall

So after applying 2 coats, I was done.  Then came the fun part…putting my creation together.  I removed the dreaded TV from the dresser.  It just didn’t sync with my new art.

This is how it looks now.

Completed art

Up close

I really like it…but it’s not complete yet.  I need to collect more toilet rolls and create a more fuller effect.  (I guess we are going to have to use the toilet more frequently to collect more rolls!) LOL! I am hoping to find an old mirror and incorporate it in the design as originally planned.

Here is a picture to remind you of what the space looked like before:

Before

The completed wall looks much better in real life…the photo does not do it justice.  It looks like metal pieces.  I initially wanted to spray paint it, but actually like the raw colour.

Once again, I used a product that was destined for waste and it cost me nothing.  The paint was a tester pot I got from Dulux a few years ago. It took me about 2 hours to complete (with the meal times in between).  I used 165 cut pieces.

Total project cost: R0,00.

I love it!