This is the easiest project I’ve attempted yet. It all started with an Ikea plant glide and furniture nails (which come in myriad colors and sizes). This clock is full of possibility. You could also glue on wood pieces, apply chalkboard paint, affix buttons, or just leave it au natural. (Oh, and I made the china cabinet that you see in the picture too.)

How to make a furniture nail clock

Supplies

• Ikea Bjurön plant glide
• primer
• 2 paint colors (I used Behr: Prelude 740E-3 and Lake Stream PMD-24)
• 12-inch square piece of scrap paper
• furniture nails (I used 1054 in Jeans Blue)
• clock movement (Q-80 movement #10004)
• sturdy hanger (Q-80 heavy-duty hanger #10154)
• hour and minute hands (#67912—free with clock movement purchase)
• AA battery

Tools

• pencil
• protractor
• ruler
• rubber mallet
• paint brush
• drill and 5/16-inch drill bit
• fine sand paper or electric sander
• vacuum or tack cloth

1. Find the center: Start by tracing your plant glide onto your scrap piece of paper and cut it out. Fold it in half horizontally, unfold, then fold in half vertically. Your center is where the two folds meet. Poke a hole in the middle of the paper with your pencil, and mark the spot on your clock face. (I obviously did this after painting. Bad idea.) Save your paper circle for step 4.

2. Drill the hole in the spot where you marked, then lightly sand the whole face. Remove the dust with a vacuum or tack cloth.

3. Apply 1-2 coats of primer and let dry. Paint the clock face one color and the side another. To get a clean line where the two colors meet, brush toward the edge. Apply two coats of each. Let dry.

4. Using a protractor, mark 30-degree increments on your paper circle. Measure and mark each 30-degree segment 5 inches from the center. These marks are where you’ll place your furniture nails.

5. Place the paper circle on top of your clock face. Hammer a nail through the paper at each one of your twelve marks. Hammer only half-way down.

6. Gently tear off the paper, then hammer the nails all the way down.

7. Assemble your clock according to the instructions. You’ll find this picture and written instructions at Klockit. Then just insert the battery, set the time, and hang it on the wall.