In 2015, I decided to make a Christmas gift for Annette. In May that year, while browsing the internet, I came across the Vinyl 4 Decor company that makes vinyl designs for home decor. One of the products they sell is called "Family Photo Vinyl Wall Clock" that looked like a fun gift.
However, as I thought about the wall clock idea, I decided that if I would rather have the clock in a format that would allow me to move it if we ever moved. I did not want to leave my clock on the wall of our house if we ever sell it.
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| family photo wall clock September 27, 2020 version |
I purchased the large size wall clock. Then I bought a 4' X 8' sheet of plywood and cut it into two 4' X 4' pieces. The plywood sheet I purchased had a nice oak top. I decided to use corner molding to "frame" the plywood and give it a more finished look.
I wanted to finish the molding with mitered corners. However, because the molding was only available in 8-foot lengths, I would need to buy four pieces to have enough molding to make mitered corners. I finally found some 1" square wood disks and decided to add these to the corners of the clock. This would allow me to purchase only two 8-foot pieces of molding and split them into the four pieces for the sides of the clock.
Even though I purchased the vinyl and clock parts in May, I did not start working on the clock until the first week of December. Annette was working at Power Sports (teaching pre-school) at that time. Thus, I would "work from home" and take time to work on the clock during the day while she was gone to work.
One day, Tate was sick and could not go to school. So, I stayed home to care for him while Annette went to work. Thus, Tate got to assist me in working on the clock.
I sanded the wood and stained it with a couple of coats. After the final coat of stain dried, I applied the vinyl to the clock face and applied a polyurethane clear coat finish over the top of the vinyl to finish the wood and "seal" the vinyl to the clock. Lastly, I added the clock mechanism with the hands and printed family pictures to add to the clock numbers.
While I was working on the clock, I hid the clock parts behind the dresser in Truman's bedroom. On the day that I applied the polyurethane finish, it left a distinct smell in the house. That night, when Annette was tucking the boys into bed, she questioned Jason (a Junior in high school) whether he was doing drugs because she could smell something funny in the bedroom. She also asked me if I could smell anything odd but I told her she was imagining things.
On Christmas Eve, I asked Jason and Truman to bring the clock down from the bedroom and hang it on the wall in the kitchen on Christmas morning before Annette got up.
The clock was a wonderful surprise for Annette and a cherished gift that still hangs on our wall.
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