Magical Moment

Maybe these magical moments don't come as often as we'd wish but when they do... They are so worth the wait! ;)

These creative magical moments are just wonderful when they occur: it's when your mojo, your stash and the project you're working on are all aligned to the one and only outcome!

Because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my Finnabair clock.

As I'm a big fan of taking vintage cuckoo clocks apart, I often have a stock of gears that can not be taken apart and are far to dimensional for paper projects or art journaling. I hoard those with lots of love!
And Finn's clock gave me a very good excuse to keep doing this, as they make the perfect filling for the clock!

I started by glueing down a layer of foam in the clock (Oasis foam) with Art Basics 3D Gloss Gel, so that I could prick my gears in the foam.

To hide the foam, I covered it with a layer of Art Extravagance Black Sand Texture Paste. I sprayed some Color Bloom over it (Glistening Waves, Soft Teal), pricked my gears in place as well as some other embellishments, then left the whole thing to dry overnight.

The next day, I glued sturdy packaging foam in the middle, higher than the gears, for the focal point.

I added a Mechanical pendant to hide the foam and to have a surface to glue the photo that I wanted to use (which is a 7 Dots Studio Cold Country die cut element). I added Art Ingredients Glitter with Art Basics Soft Matte Gel to highlight the focal point.

To create the clock face, I used Tim Holtz Weathered Clock die to die cut a piece of heavy watercolor paper. After the first layer of Art Basics Heavy Black Gesso, I added touches of 3 different Art Extravagance Texture Paste Crackle (Gold - Antique Silver - Copper) in several layers.

Once dried, I sprayed the same Color Blooms as I did for the inside of the clock. I dabbed the excess ink away and heat setted it. I applied embossing ink over the whole clock and melted clear UTEE to add a glossy dimension.

For the outside of the clock, I started in the same as for the clock face: Art Extravagance Texture Paste Crackle (Gold - Antique Silver - Copper) and Color Bloom. Then I added touches of Art Basics Soft Matte Gel and sprinkled Art Ingredients Glitter over it. I stamped a couple of Finnabair's clear stamps using black Archival ink here and there.

I stamped one line of my 'Barcode Text #2' by Stampotique on a piece of 7 Dots Studio Cold Country paper with black Archival ink, applied a thin layer of Art Extravagance Texture Paste Clear Crackle and added light touches of Art Ingredients Glitter after glueing the paper on a strip of home rusted metal. I glued it on the clock with Art Basics 3D Gloss Gel.

I loved making this project, it was such a fun journey! Thank you Finn, for giving me a good excuse to keep on dismantling old cuckoos, because I'm positively sure, I'll be filling up more of those wonderful clocks!

Materials from Mixed Media Place: