Chromatic Wall Clock

This DIY starburst wall clock is inspired by one found at The Land of Nod. Not only adorable, this wall clock is an excellent woodworking starter project!

For those of you who’ve not been subjected to the swoon-worthiness of The Land of Nod, first, you’re missing out – second, think your favorite store or catalog, full of every one of your favorite decor items and some you didn’t know you’d love until you saw them. Now imagine that same store is for kids.

I was asked by Melissa of Pig and Rabbit to join with a group of talented bloggers tasked with creating one item – any item – from the Land of Nod catalog. Please be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page for a look at some of the projects submitted.

I’m not a stranger to The Land of Nod inspired projects, nor is this the first TLON project used in my son’s room, but it’s currently my favorite TLON inspired project!

I chose to create a fun, 12-point star-shaped chromatic wall clock for my son’s room. This project was such a great learning experience for me – a great intermediate-beginner woodworking project. I’ve done some woodworking over the years, but I played with more tools, and gained more knowledge from this little clock than on anything else I’ve ever worked on!

Next, I used a router to cut out a large enough square to house the clock case, by tracing the clock case onto the back. I was so excited to be using the router that I didn’t concern myself with cutting a perfect square, as you can see! Next time, I’ll be using a guide now that I’m comfortable with the router – so proud of that!

I added a hole to the center of the routered box to accommodate the clock shaft and added a coat of black paint to the back and sides of the piece.

Despite my best efforts, and taped off the front diligently, there was a significant amount of bleed-through. But nothing that a good sanding couldn’t help!

Once the clock base was complete, I moved onto the clock face. Once again, I used my Silhouette Portrait to create and cut out the stencil patterns in self-adhesive vinyl. Working with a few star points at a time, I applied the stencil and painted each in a different acrylic paint color.

Then, I applied the number stencils, ensuring each lined up appropriately, outlined each diamond shape using a fine black paint-pen and a ruler.

Then touched up where needed using a small brush.

Finally, the whole piece received two or three coats of clear glossy enamel.

Last steps, install the clock mechanism, hands and set the time.

And, of course, find the clock a home!

I learned so much from this project and my son loves his new clock. If you decide to take on your own clock, please, drop me a line so I can see how it turns out!

Please visit these other Land of Nod inspired projects by some of my favorite DIY’ers!

Pin for later: DIY Chromatic Wall Clock