All Geared Up!

My first project of the year... yeah!!  I decided that I was going to get back into projects and alter some of the pieces I've bought over the years.  I don't know about you but when I see a bargain I can't pass it up so needless to say I have LOTS of things in my stash that I want to use.

I decided the first project was going to be something for me! You all know how much I love clocks well as it happens I had a clock kit in my stash.  I was a Walnut Hollow kit that was on clearance at Hobby Lobby a few years back.  (Gotta love Clearance...he's a great guy!)  It was about 1/3rd the regular price!

The kit was how to dry emboss using a plastic template and several different tools (included in the kit).  Well you know me, I don't like to follow directions so I immediately tossed those in the trash and did my own thing ;)

I did figure out why it was so cheap...the glue on the wood piece gave way and popped one of the sides loose.  Luckily the rest of the body was very sturdy so it's just a minor set back.

To help hide the defect I decided to paint the whole thing black...

This not only hides the crack but it will look nice as too!

So I decided that the way they wanted to emboss was WAY too time consuming so I used my fav. cuttlebug embossing fold and embossed a couple pieces of the metal included in the kit.  Please note - the dry embossing technique was very popular many years ago - it was before embossing folders became popular making the technique in the kit pretty much outdated.

I inked the entire panel with Orange Zest StazOn ink,

then went over the high spots with Ganache.

I cut the metal into 1" strips. Poured quite a bit of Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue on the frame which I spread out using my fingers.

I then began laying the strips along the edge - aligning them with the outside edge - the inside edge would be covered by the clock piece so it worked out well this way.

Once the glue dried, I put the clock into the frame...this was no easy task mind you - apparently in addition to the crack, it must have shrunk some too because it was a very tight fit. After the clock was in I trimmed off the excess metal and burnished all of the edges with the paper stump included in the kit.  Finally I glued in the glass piece over the clock and added the battery!  It is now residing on my end-table in the living room.

So, fess up...do you have any kits/projects in your stash that you bought years and years ago???  Please tell me I'm not the only one!