Pottery Barn Inspired Roman Numeral Clock

 

Yes, the new Pottery Barn Catalog has some beautiful things in it this month.  See that Roman Numeral Clock Piece hanging on the wall?

I have been plotting and planning how I was going to make it for my own.  It’s not for sale in the catalog. (But even if it was, I am sure the price tag on it would be $249.00 like all of the other pieces in their catalog that I love.)

I was happy to see that I am not the only one who was coveting that piece.  As I was browsing blogs just the other day I came across Alchemy Junk and there it was…..Stephanie’s version of the Pottery Barn Roman Numeral Clock! If you want to see how she made her version, pop on over to her blog where she gives some great tips on how she was able to get such a vintage look.  I love her blog.  Lot’s of other projects can be found there.  I can tell that the wheels are always turning as she figures out how to make just about anything!  

 

Here is Stephanie’s clock.  It is aged to perfection!  Check out her blog post for tips on how she made her piece look old as dirt!!

So here is how I made mine.  The first thing I did was find myself  a piece of wood.  I found a 24 inch X 24 inch piece of pre-cut wood board at Home Depot for $5.84. If you decide to make this project….your wood needs to be a square with equal sized sides.  That way your clock circle with fit perfectly in the square.  Rectangles will not work! I was lucky and found a piece that was already a square.  If you want something larger or smaller have them cut you a piece right there in the store. 

I followed Stephanie’s directions and I drew out my circle using a pencil tied to a string.  After marking the center point on the wood, secure the string in the middle and run you pencil in a circle outlining the perimeter and coming as close to the edges as you can and keeping the string taught for a perfect circle.  See…you really are using something you learned in Geometry class all those years ago!

I also used some white paint and some glaze. Mixing the glaze with the white paint lets you white wash the board for that aged look.  You can also dilute your white paint with some water.  I did all kinds of things trying to make my piece of wood look old and distressed.  Stephanie offered up the great tip to rub some barn red paint with some yellow on a rag and dab on some of the holes to make them look like rusty nail marks.  I also smeared some black paint with some glaze and very carefully “smudged” up parts of the surface and quickly wiped off to give it an old look.  (Glaze helps dilute your paint…make it thinner…and keep it wet longer so that you are able to move it around and wipe off most of it with a rag when you want to.)  Stephanie at Alchemy Junk used black paint mixed with glaze for her numbers.  I simply used pencil lead.

I used a knife and a pair if scissors to gouge up and distress the wood to make it look old.  Have at it!  Get your frustrations out and beat up your piece of wood as best you can!   Sandpaper can help here too.  And don’t forget to gouge out a center hole where the hands of the clock once lived. :)

First, I tried stamping my Roman Numerals on the board which was easy but the numbers were too chunky for the look I wanted so I ended up flipping the board over and re-doing it. 

This is a photo of my first attempt.

This is sooooo not the look that I was going for.  The stamps that I used were way too big and chunky.  Learn from my mistakes people!!!

After I flipped the board over and re-outlined my circle and gouged up the wood again……I looked on line for some “thin” Roman Numerals that I liked and found them at Martha Stewart where I was able to print them out.   Remember, you only need the letters “V”, “I”, and “X” and you will have what you need to make all of the numbers.  I had to play with the size of the letter/numbers till I got the size that looked right on my clock.   There are a couple of ways to go with transferring the printouts of the numbers to your board.  You can use an “Exacto”  knife and cut out your own stencils or your can do what I did.

I used a lead pencil to color in the number printout that I was using.  After I completely filled it in with pencil lead, I placed it on my clock board upside down and used a flat nosed screw driver and rubbed the back to transfer the pencil lead to my clock face.  Then I was able to fill in my number with the pencil instead of paining them on.  I had a steadier hand using the pencil which was the faded black color I wanted and I knew I was going to white wash over it anyhow.  So feel free to simply color them in with your pencil like I did.  Looks just like I painted them on. 

To help in placing the numbers, I used a yard stick to divide the board in half vertically and horizontally and make marks with my pencil and that is where I place the numbers 12, 6, 3 and 9 on the clock.  Then I use the yard stick and mark a line diagonally from corner to corner to help me with my placement of the numbers 1 and 2, 4 and 5, 7 and 8, and 10 and 11.   After all the numbers were done, then I white washed it and “smushed” on smears of white paint with my fingers and a paint brush till it looked the way I wanted. 

And here she is!  I have it hanging on the wall in our sunroom.

I screwed a couple of eye hooks to the back with some picture hanging wire to hang it securely on the wall. 

My son thinks it need hands.  I will consider turning it into a real clock but for right now I am going to enjoy it’s Vintage-Broken Clock look.

Oakley likes it.  And really, that is all that matters! :)

 

I am linking this post up to MAKE YOUR MONDAY over at the Twice Remembered Cottage. And I am linking up to Metamorphosis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch.  Lot’s of projects to investigate this week!!