I thrifted a mantle clock awhile back, thinking I would paint it and update it a bit. The clock mechanism was broken and I didn’t want to buy a new one, so I decided to turn it into a somewhat neutral winter decoration. Mine looked similar to this one.

The first thing I did was remove the plastic clock face. I cleaned it well, then decoupaged printed tissue paper onto the back instead of the front. This will help keep the tissue nice and make the front easy to keep clean.

Once the tissue paper was dry, I sealed the back with Mod Podge and let that dry. Then I painted over the tissue with white chalk paint to give a white background that would make the design stand out. I let that dry. I missed getting a picture of that and I was afraid to try to pop it back out of its frame after decoupaging. I thought it might tear the paper. But just know that one coat of paint over the dry tissue is all you need.

I then cleaned the clock with Windex and my idea was to dry brush white chalk paint over it. That looked terrible as the base was way too dark. So I let that dry, then drybrushed over the white with a green called “Cupboard Green”.

To drybrush you get a little paint on a brush (I use a chip brush you can get at Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc.)

Then using a paper towel, I dabbed most of the paint off, then I went over the piece, a little thicker than I did the white. This allowed some of the white and the original dark brown to show through for a beautiful distressed result.

I placed it on top of my china cabinet with some vintage looking snowmen and the “book vase” I made from 3 of my childhood story books. They are just tied together so they aren’t damaged at all. It is now holding a small Christmas tree. I love changing what it holds for the different seasons and to be able to see these books on display.