This week I was inspired by a small request from Clara that came through John’s mom. She overheard Clara telling her cousin she didn’t have a clock in her room, and I thought: I’ve never made a clock, but I can make something fun and interactive for her. Clock kits are sold in stores, so it can’t be that hard, right?
Here’s what I made.
And here it is hanging on the wall in Clara’s room.
I briefly considered turning a birdhouse into a clock, but many birdhouses stick too far from the wall or lack a flat face, so the clock hands would likely hit something. Instead I found a DIY cuckoo clock concept that I loved and used the basic house shape as my starting point, then added a few three-dimensional details to make it playful and kid-friendly.
I picked up a 12 x 12″ sheet of 1/4″ plywood at JoAnn for about $3 (with a coupon) and cut it into a simple house silhouette on the miter saw. If you don’t have a saw, this thin plywood can be scored repeatedly with an X-Acto knife and snapped along the cuts to get the same shape.
From the craft store I also grabbed a tiny picket fence ($2.99), a bag of various wooden disks ($2), and a thin trim piece (around 90 cents) to create a roofline and other features. Here are the pieces before assembly.
I glued a small ledge along the bottom and a narrower shelf about 3″ below the roof, using leftover board for the shelf. I added the thin trim along the top to form a little roof detail and glued a round wooden disk beneath it to suggest a circular window. I used craft glue for most pieces and small picture nails to secure the picket fence so it wraps around the front ledge.
I measured and marked the center for the clock hands, then drilled a hole just large enough for the clock mechanism spindle to pass through.
Painting was next. I asked Clara what color she wanted, expecting pink, but she chose blue. I had a leftover test pot of Behr’s Embellished Blue from a previous project, so I applied two coats for even coverage.
Once the paint dried, I sketched the clock face and other details. I traced a circle using an old coaster and a white paint pen for the clock face, then free‑handed window frames, window boxes, and plant stems. I used a red marker to dot flowers in the window boxes and behind the picket fence—simple, sketchy lines give it a charming, handmade look.
I bought a clock kit at JoAnn for about $6 (I used a coupon), and I liked the vintage gold finish it came in, which matched the cuckoo-clock vibe. Assembly is straightforward: slide the spindle through the hole, add the hands, and secure the small nuts and washers in the order the kit recommends.
On the back, the battery-powered mechanism sticks out a bit. To keep the clock flush and stable on the wall, I glued three small scrap blocks of wood behind it so the whole piece projects evenly. I added a metal hanger on the top block for easy hanging.
I also drilled a small hole in the bottom shelf and inserted a 4″ trim scrap with a larger wooden disk to mimic a little pendulum. It doesn’t swing, but it enhances the quaint charm of the clock.
The whole project—from shopping and cutting to gluing, painting, sketching, and assembling—took roughly two hours. The total cost stayed under $15: $6 for the clock kit, $3 for the plywood backing, and about $5.90 for the small accessories like the trim, wooden disks, and picket fence.
This would make a sweet, budget‑friendly gift—keep it simple with white paint and metallic accents if you prefer. Without the extra shelves and fence it could be an under $10 project.
Best of all, Clara absolutely adores her clock. The shelves give her a place to display little toys—animals, dragons, and fairies—and it’s become part of our bedtime ritual. Each night she tells us who she wants on the top shelf and who she wants on the bottom, we place them there, and then we tuck her in.
If you’ve ever made a clock from a kit, you know the trickiest part is usually drilling a hole big enough for the spindle. I simply used progressively larger drill bits until the spindle fit snugly, and that solved it. It’s a quick, affordable project that adds a lot of personality to a child’s room.