I'm starting to worry. I may not stop until every wall in my house is covered in plates.
Last weekend we scored two blue and white plates for $6 at the Trash and Treasure sale. Score!
One of them just happened to be the perfect design to make our long anticipated plate clock.
I'm not going to lie, it was hard. Mostly because I measured wrong and got the wrong size drillbit. And full disclosure, the hard part of this project was done 100% by my wonderful husband, while I sat there and plugged my ears. Drill+china=screeeeeeech.
To make your clock, first you need to find your center. Our plate was a lace work design with an obvious center, yay! Otherwise, measure across the middle in several places and make sure you've got the exact center. This is really really important. You may end up with a plate that's almost completely drilled through before you see the light coming through and realize that's nowhere NEAR the center. This may have happened with our skyline plate. Maybe.
Once you've found your center point, set your plate on a towel with a piece of wood or thick cardboard underneath. You'll need a masonry bit that's slightly larger than the diameter of your clock motion set (this can be picked up at any hobby store). This was my problem.
Because the 1/4" masonry bit we used was slightly smaller than the clock motion parts, we used a combination of the masonry bit, a larger regular bit, and a knife to scrape out the ceramic. Yeah, I told you he was awesome.
Using the regular bit led to a few chips. We didn't mind since the plate is obviously old and used anyway. A masonry bit of the proper size probably wouldn't have chipped the plate (note: the masonry bit did cause some chipping on the back of the plate when it went through. I would suggest drilling from the front).
Plus, you can't really notice it unless you're really looking.
Once you get a big enough hole, put in the clock motion and fasten it down. Then add your hands and set the time.
Not bad for $7, right? Especially considering that you can get a similar version on Etsy for upwards of $40. Or at least, you could. One of the plates she uses is $6 at Pier 1 folks. this is a perfect DIY project if you've got an electric drill.
I would say the key is to go slowly. This is not a five minute project, but it was totally worth the time it took. A totally custom clock for my kitchen makes me so happy. Especially the blue lacework next to the yellow geometric.
I gotta say, I'm really a fan of the plates.
