It's been a long time since I posted a dollhouse update. It feels great to be playing in the land of miniatures again. This time I had fun with an upcycled miniature grandfather clock along with repurposing a jar lid for a DIY dollhouse wall clock.

Miniature Grandfather Clock and DIY Wall Clock

Our miniature fixer-upper dollhouse began when we found an IKEA Billy Bookcase at our local Salvation Army Store for $14.99 to gift to our granddaughter. The goal for the dollhouse is that everything, including the dollhouse, is either repurposed or a DIY project.

You can find the other dollhouse miniature ideas on our dollhouse page. It even has a realistic miniature fireplace with a flickering flame.

The motivation for the miniature dollhouse clocks started with a trip to Goodwill where we found a miniature german grandfather clock for $3.50. All the mechanisms are still intact but unfortunately, the clock no longer works. In my books, that makes it fair game for a makeover.

According to my research, these handpainted clocks were made in West Germany in the 1950s. As I mentioned earlier, they are a collector's item and sell for at least $50, without the key.

Even though it no longer works, I'm sure for a price the clock could be repaired. But we decided not to pursue that route and instead give it a makeover for our granddaughter's dollhouse.

Miniature Grandfather Clock Makeover

So let's get started with the DIY dollhouse miniature clocks in two styles. If you are a collector, you may want to stop reading here because I'm about to share how the german clock got a farmhouse-style makeover.

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I decided to give the grandfather clock a simple white makeover with a farmhouse-style charm.

In order to cover the floral details, the clock was primed first with a white stain-blocking primer.

Next, it was painted with one coat of black FAT Chalk Style Paint in the color Raven that I had on hand. This acts as a base coat for distressing later. I painted the blue plastic clock face too.

Once the black base coat was dry I painted it white with two coats of Dixie Belle Paint in the color Fluff. To distress the finish, I used 220-grit sandpaper along the edges so the black base coat showed underneath (pictured below).

With a small art brush, I painted the numbers on the clock face and the wooden knob on the lower door with gold metallic craft paint.

To add farmhouse charm I rubbed a farmhouse delight knob transfer onto the front of the bottom door.

Had the 1950s German grandfather clock still worked, I would have kept it in its original condition. But I think it looks pretty darn cute with its new look.

Next up is how I made the easy peasy DIY wall clock for the dollhouse kitchen.

DIY Dollhouse Miniature Wall Clock

I save everything in all sizes that have paint storage potential. On a shelf in the workshop were some empty Scentsy melt sample jars. I realized the size of the lid with the silver rim would be perfect to repurpose into a miniature wall clock.

All that I had to do was add a clock face and so I set out to make a clock face decal for the front of the glass.

How To Make A Miniature Clock Face Decal

It's so easy to make small decals for glass and I'm sharing the simple steps below.

1. You can find numerous clock face printables in different styles online with a quick Google search. Once I found one I liked I changed my laser printer settings to resize the graphic to fit the jar lid.
2. Once printed trim around the clock face and run a piece of clear packing tape over the graphic.
3. Place it into a bowl of warm water just long enough for the paper to get wet.
4. Rub your fingers to remove the paper from the back of the tape. The tape should still be sticky on the back.

If the tape lost too much adhesiveness, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge or white school glue onto the glass to secure the decal. It will dry clear.

See, told you it was easy!

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of both dollhouse clocks, almost all of the DIY projects shared here at Interior Frugalista have step-by-step tutorials so why not get your budget DIY on and subscribe. You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by these miniature dollhouse clock ideas.

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