Dita's FABULOUS Cuckoo Clock

Hi Everyone - Lowri here

We received an entry to our Challenge last week that was so fabulous we wanted to feature it!
Dita sent us this Clock and also some really detailed instructions on how she put it all together. You should also take a look at Dita's Gallery - she has some fabulous work on there.

Time spent on project - 3.5 hours
I did this in one afternoon.. I used a hairdryer to dry the coats of paint speeding up my project immensely! After all, I have two very young kids and finishing time to do this project in batches, was not an option for me.

Materials used:
Kaisercraft Cuckoo Clock - Beyond the Page pack.
Paint: Kaiserkraft paints: Antique white/ Red/ Mango
Flowers: Prima (large flower) - Mini spray roses red- Prima small organza gold ribbon roses
Laser cut embellishment- birdcage and birds
Prima pearls (used on the scalloped edge of the roof)
Liquid pearl- Emerald Green
Distress ink- Vintage photo
Jute Twine
Dry twigs - picked from the back yard- Sprayed with gold paint and then lacquered
Super glue - a must if you are doing this in a short time as it adheres really quickly.

Method Used:
Unpack the Kaisercraft Cuckoo Clock from packaging.
Sand the edges gently to remove any ragged edges- I used a nail buffer to gently scrape the edges & smooth it out.
Painting the main peice of the clock (the body): I used the Antique white paint and a flat brush for the first TWO coats, drying them with a hair dryer to dry the paint in each layer. I then used a roller brush to go over the piece TWO more times. This gave a nice finish to the main piece and no ridge marks etc.
Painting the roof pieces: I painted the scalloped edge with the Red paint and uses Mango for the top piece. I used THREE coats of paint on these, and dried them with a hair dryer after each application.
Painting the fence peices: I used Mango for the Upright peice - Again THREE coats and drying after each coat with a hair dryer. I used Red for the base piece which slots onto the main body piece.

Assembling:
After the pieces were fully dried (the hairdrier helped dry it in 10-15 minutes max), I assembled my Cuckoo Clock, as shown in the picture. It was pretty easy to slot the pieces in like a jigsaw puzzle.
Preparing the embellishments: I cut the birdcage embellishment to fit the side of the "Window". I then stainted the cage using a cotton bud and distress ink- I kept the application light in some places and darker at the edges to give it a shadowy effect. I then painted the birds RED (same colour used on the roof)and used a contrasting piece of MME paper dot to mark the tummies.. I then used the liquid pearl to bring out the leaves of the branch. I painted the large bird using Mango and distressed its borders so it could stand out against the pale background.
Other Embellishments:
Using the Superglue, I mounted the main Prima flower on the left corner of the fence. I then stuck the large branch behind the fence using a foam tape. The smaller branch was stuck on the front of the fence itself to give it a 3D effect. The spray roses gives the fence a bit of dimension. The Organza roses tied all the colours in together.
The Pendulums:
I used a couple of Hooks and hammered them into the base of the clock. I painted the Pendulums Red and dried them off. Then I twisted Jute twine and hung the pendulums at different heights off the base of the clock.

 

Thanks so much Dita for sending this to us - if you would like to enter the Challenge - please see all the details here.