As I mentioned 2 weeks ago, I love giving handmade gifts.  Last week, it was my friend Lien’s birthday.  This girl is a music lover who still collects records, which makes her the perfect receiver for this LP-turned-clock experiment.  All the experimenting aside, it’s a very easy diy: find yourself a clock mechanism at your local craft supply store, an old record at the closest thrift store and you can already get started.  I threw some mint green spray paint in the mix and covered the original label with a marble texture I printed on thick paper.  By now I’ve made a second clock, which took me about 20 minutes to make (told you it was easy) but this first clock took me quite some time to say the least.  I blame it on all the experiments that involved different clock hands that turned out not to fit the mechanism (I might have to complain to my craft store about that), trying to paint the original label with acrylic paint (turned out awful, so tips on obtaining a smooth surface without visible brush strokes are welcome), finding the right size of saucer to cut out the circular label, figuring out the order of all the bolts and rubbers that come with the mechanism (still no clue, I winged it) and cursing the opening of the LP that was just a little bit too small for the mechanism to fit through (I solved it by wrapping some sanding paper around the handle of a thin paint brush, pushing it through and twisting it around).  Yes, lots of trial-and-error, which means you can don’t have to do that anymore when you give this a try!  Have fun!

PS.  For more DIY ideas, take a look at the diy category on this blog here or on my diy pinterest board.

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