Steampunk Alarm Clock Collage

A couple weeks ago I shared this mystery photo of an upcoming project I had planned...

Several people guessed that it might be watch parts and hoped that they might have something to do with a Steampunk project in the works.

Well those folks were almost correct...

the photo is of various parts from old alarm clocks

and

This IS a Steampunk project!!

A few months ago I won an auction for several vintage alarm clocks.  I was so excited...I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them ~ I just had to wait till I had the time.   So anyway, after I got the box full of clocks I tore them apart. ~ I kept the shells, covers, clock faces and all non-electrical inside parts....

 

Now I know what you're thinkin....what the heck is she gonna do with those grungy ugly things???

A Steampunk Alarm Clock Collage of course!

To prepare the clock the first thing I did was mask off the front of the clock casing and paint inside a nice copper color...

After the insides were dry it was time to cover the dingy white plastic case.  I glued a small piece of pattern paper on the back to cover all the holes and text. I then inked the entire back, sides and frame of the clock case using Coffee Archival Ink and the Ink Blending Tool.  Set it aside to dry completely ~ you can also speed drying with a heat tool.

Next, time to work on the collage.  I figured a great place to start was with a bit of Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante pattern papers for the background...

While I'm not using the clock face for this collage it makes a great template for the base for my collage.  With a few notches cut here and there it slips right into place inside the clock body. 

TIP: If you plan on using the clock face in another project it's always good to make a template of the face from chipboard and keep it with the clock casing.  That way when you go to create a collage with the clock you will have the correct template so you don't have to go by trial and error.

Note: I did mount the pattern paper onto a piece of chipboard to make it sturdy enough to handle the collage.

I inked up the edges with a bit of Walnut Stain Distress Ink and my IBT.

Then proceeded to pull out all sorts of goodies to incorporate into the collage.  My main image is the Steampunk chick from my March Get Inked kit from QKD.

After I glued everything down in place I popped it into the clock case and secured the chipboard base with a bit of glue. 

Now sometimes you get a clock that has a broken bit here or there.  As you can see, one of the ornate corners of my clock was broken off at some point in it's life. 

No worries... I created this Steampunk Butterfly to cover it up!

And I finished off the collage by adding a few more pieces to fill in the rest of the clock body....

Here is the finished Steampunk Alarm Clock Collage...

Fun huh?

Bet you won't look at an old junk alarm clock in the same way again!