Clock DIY Make-Over

Last week, I saw a post online where someone repurposed an old clock by taking off the face and painting it. I tried looking around, but I couldn't find that post again. I've been wanting to add a clock to LE's room, but I really didn't want to spend more than $10 bucks on one. 

I casually looked around for a little while. It wasn't until I had to go to Walmart to buy spraypaint (the cheapest place I've found it) that I walked by their clock aisle. Their basic Mainstays brand 8.75 inch wall clock comes in a few colors, and it costs under $4. Add a little scrapbook paper for less than $1. Bingo! A new clock that comes in under 5 bucks.

If you have an old clock that needs new life, or if you're like me and need to revamp a new clock, follow along for the step by step. I'll explain how to do this using thick scrapbook paper as the face of the clock, but with small adjustments to the tutorial, you could use fabric or paint instead. I was able to get this very easy DIY done from start to finish during LE's nap. 

Take a mental note of how the clock hands are placed before you take your clock apart. Flip your clock over and remove the screws that are keeping the face to the back.  Snap out the battery pack, which will remove your clock hands.

Flip the clock back over to the front. Measure the width of the inside. The Mainstays clock face is 7.75in. If the clock face isn't glued in (mine was), remove and discard it.

If you have a Silhouette craft cutter, your job will be super easy (skip to instructions). If not, it will just be mildly more difficult. Print a circle the size of the clock's face (use Microsoft Word or other software that allows you to specify the exact size of shapes) onto the back side of your scrapbook paper. Use scissors to cut out the circle. You should probably buy die cut numbers for the clock unless you are really good with cutting. 

For the Silhouette users:

• Open Silhouette and draw a circle to fit your clock's face. (7.75in for the Mainstays clock)
• Pick a font that you like for the numbers. I used Skia.
• Adjust the size of your numbers until you like it. The 12 in my clock was 2.5in, measuring from the top to the bottom of the 1. 

• Once you get everything to the size that you like, move all of the numbers and extras to the outside of the circle.

• If you're using the same paper for everything, send your paper through the Silhouette on a mat. For thick cardstock, use the pink blade at 2 speed and 33 thickness. I didn't find double-cutting necessary.
• If you're using different paper for the numbers, just make sure you tell the Silhouette which items to cut (e.g. just the circle or all of the numbers/dots)
• Use Mod-Podge, spray glue, or your choice of non-wrinkling adhesive to adhere the paper circle to clock's face. Before adhering, take note of where the 12 is on your original clock. You'll need to be sure that's the top of your new clock's design since that aligns with the hanging mechanism on the back of the clock.
• Paint your cut out numbers, if needed. Apply glue dots or your choice of adhesive to the back of the numbers. Adhere the 12, 9, 6, & 3 (not the dots yet); that will allow you to get them straight. If your clock is like the Mainstays one, there are visible screw holes to help guide you. 
• Poke a small hole in the paper and then push the battery pack through from the front to the back. This will make your paper bend towards the back. Carefully remove the battery pack and reattach it to the clock the correct way.
• Attach the hands the same way that they were originally. For the Mainstays clock, the hour hand goes first shiny side up. Then, the minute hand goes matte side up, and then the second hand snaps in on top. 
• Rotate the hands so that all of them line up at 12. Using the dial on the back of the clock, turn it to 1. Place a dot. Then use the dial to turn it to 2. Place a dot. Continue for the rest of the dots. This ensures that you are placing them in the correct places.
• Place the glass and cover back on the clock. Screw everything back in place. Admire your new clock!

I haven't decided where in LE's room to place the clock yet. For now, it will live with the sock monkey.

You Are My Sunshine Freebie

You've all heard the song, read the phrase, and seen it on a million prints in kids' rooms tours across the blogosphere. You'd think it'd be tired, but there's something about that tune that gets me singing it to LE without realizing it. After many rainy days this spring and a newly gifted Silhouette from my parents (!), I knew that I wanted to create some sort of design for LE to wear.

I bought a couple of plain white long-sleeve shirts on clearance at Target and a pair of yellow striped pants at a garage sale. Then I used Illustrator to create this design:

After I had it all cut out with the Silhouette, I noticed that the cursive "are my" font was way too thin for the material. I had to scrap those words and change it to the same cursive as "when skies...."

It seems as though at some places, I knew that you shouldn't put a color over another color with iron-ons, especially the flocked iron-on material that I bought from Silhouette. In other places, I didn't keep that in mind; I had to use scissors to cut out pieces of the yellow sun.

I wanted to share the design with you to create your own shirts or whatever you want. I went back to Illustrator to fix the errors, and the design now looks like this:

I saved it as a Silhouette file that should be really easy for you to use. All of the gray is grouped and all of the yellow is grouped together. Place the appropriate grouping on the artboard and cut each grouping one at a time. It's already mirrored so that you don't have to worry to remember to do that for cutting.

If you want to resize the image, to get them both the same size, you should place them both in the same area and resize them together. 

When it comes time to apply to your shirt, it should be really easy to figure out how to put them together since they fit much like a puzzle.

If you have issues or questions, let me know! I hope you enjoy it! (File links are below)

Click on the link to get directed to YouSendIt or Google to download:

Yousendit (good until August 17, 2012)

Google (must sign up for google)

Email me at any date and I'll send it to you-- no spam, pop-ups, ads... can't beat it! :)

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

Doesn't that look a-mazing? A few months ago, I compiled a mini-recipe book of cupcake recipes to go along with the cupcake carrier that our friend, the bride-to-be, registered for. Ever since then, I've been wanting to make each and every one of them. We'll get there... in time.

I'm not completely sure you took the time to actually look at that cupcake. I'll dissect it for you. 

The top tastes a lot like a toasted creamy marshmallow. The middle is a cold, tangy lemon curd that drips down the side. {Confession: I bought this from World Market when they had it buy one, get one free.} The bottom is soft, sweet lemon cake that's not too lemony, as I feared it could be with the amount of lemon zest.

This is my first time with this recipe, my first time with my kitchen torch, and my first time to make meringue. If I can manage to get these whipped up with a 14 month old toddler running around the kitchen, you can definitely make these! I won't lie-- these are very laborious (even without making my own curd) but not too difficult.

Here are the little guy's friends, ready to get eaten.

I technically didn't have a big piping tip like the recipe called for, but it didn't matter one bit. Use what you have. I recommend making the cake part one day in advance (but no more than one day), and once the icing is made, these need to be consumed within the day. So, invite your friends over for tea one afternoon. Or, enjoy them with alongside a minty, tangy mojito at an evening barbeque.

Or, wrap them up and give as mini thank-you's. I promise they'll be appreciated.

Here's where the recipe came from. {I halved the cake and icing recipes and used a little less than one jar of curd to make just 11 cupcakes.}

Let me know if you end up making them!

I linked up to