Modern cuckoo clock

Today we got wonderful weather in northern Germany - we got the barbecue started and  the garden up to par. It was really too hot for march, but I am not complaining! From a crafting point of view good weather means I can finally use lacquer again, because I don´t like to do that indoors

Concerning crafts and lacquer, I have a favorite project of mine to share with you today. I love it because a) it is quite easy and b) I am totally delighted with my result!

I have spent the last five years in Freiburg, a city right on the edge of the black forest. So when I moved away, I wanted to create a keepsake to honor that time. The choice of a cuckoo clock was quite easy, as there is little as connected to the black forest as that ticking bird´s home.

 I actually owned a traditional cuckoo clock when I was small, but my taste has changed some and I did not want all that dark wood and tons of curlicues to clutter my room.

They sell a modern version that is just a silhouette painted in all imaginable colors (pink seems to be a customers favorite). But as I did not want to drop 40 € on that, I decided to do it myself, which is more fun anyway.



You need:

- pencil, paper, scissors
- plywood, 4mm, about 50 x 30 cm
- fret saw and blades
- sanding paper
- drill
- lacquer (for a shiny finish) in whatever color you like. Bold colors do make a great statement, but I seem to be in a light blue phase (remember the 3D word art?)
- clockwork (I used an old one taken off a cheap clock I did not like anymore)

1. Choose a silhouette you like. You can use mine, or do a google image search for "(modern) cuckoo
clock". I did not like the designs on top of the clocks I found, so I searched for a picture of a roaring stag and put that on top of mine. As you can see left, I did a lot of sketches to get a silhouette I really liked, but that is not necessary.

2. Enlarge the silhouette to the size you want and cut it out. Put it on top of the plywood and trace it.

3. Do your sawing. If you need to cut out some internal pieces (like between the stag´s legs) first drill a hole, than enter your saw blade.

4. Sand down the edges.

5. Mark the middle of the clock and drill a hole for the clockwork.

6. Paint the wood.

7. Enter your clockwork and set the watch.

This is a project for one afternoon, with great results. Be sure to try it out, even if you did not live in the black forest!



I am linking to these cool parties:

http://www.shabbynest.blogspot.de
 http://diyshowoff.com/category/other/that-diy-party/
http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/2014/03/craft-o-maniac-monday-link-party-10.html