The secret to creating truly realistic dollhouse miniatures is all in the details.  But that doesn’t mean you need to be an incredible artist to create them!  Some clever repurposing and use of materials can yield surprising results, allowing you to make tiny things that look very convincingly like their full-size counterparts.  This tiny wall clock started out as a button, dressed up with a free printable clock face and hands salvaged from a broken watch.  The look is completed using resin, which gives the illusion of a plastic cover over the face of the clock.  Added together, all of these details make it look exactly like a real wall clock!

Project estimate:

  • Button, on hand
  • Printable clock face, free
  • Watch hands, on hand or $1 and up
  • Mod Podge, on hand
  • Glue, on hand
  • Resin, on hand or about $8 and up

Total:  Free and up

Your button should be large and have a lip around the outside edge.  This is important because the lip will hold the resin in for the last step!  My button started out black, but I used spray paint to make it off-white instead.

Use your computer to resize a clock face image to fit inside the lip of your button and print it out.  (I found my clock face printable at The Graphics Fairy.)

Glue the clock face to the front of the button.  Seal the surface with several coats of Mod Podge.

Carefully glue the watch hands to the face of the clock using a tiny dab of glue.  To make placing the hands easier, try using tweezers.

Mix a small amount of resin according to the directions on the package.  (I use EnviroTex Lite.)  Pour it into the face of the clock, being careful not to overflow the lip around the edge of the button.

Allow the resin to cure in a warm, dry place on a level surface for at least 24 hours.  Once the resin is cured, the clock is ready to hang on your dollhouse wall!