This do-it-yourself sunflower clock from Nicholas Rosaci is easy to do, and makes for a great craft project on a rainy weekend.

Materials required:

–    Single side corrugated cardboard for 15 strips 100cm x 5cm (available at paper product, moving and packaging stores)

–    Stiff corrugated cardboard sheet

–    Heavy weight black construction paper

–    Small ¼” craft quartz clock mechanism kit

–    Hour, minute, second hand and cutout numbers for clock

–    6” x 1 ¼ “ x ½”  Styrofoam ring

–    Rubber cement glue

–    Lepage No More Nails adhesive glue

–    Stapler – standard size

–    Metal edge ruler

–    Craft knife

–    1” standard brass paper fasteners

–    Optional – Self healing cutting mat

Instructions:

1.    Mark out a strip of corrugated cardboard 100 cm long x 5 cm wide with a pencil and ruler.  On a cutting surface, cut out the strip with a craft knife and metal edge.  Make a total of 15 identical strips.

2.    Use rubber cement to glue the flat side of each strip onto black construction paper and trim with a craft knife.  Each strip should now have a rippled corrugated side and a smooth black construction paper side.

3.    Fold each strip in half, keeping the corrugated ripples outward facing.  Staple 2.5 cm from the fold, and at the open ends to join the strip halves together.  Then staple 20 cm from the fold.  This will create strips that have two open sections similar to the figure 8 when the open sections are spread apart.

4.    Gather all of the strips together evenly aligned in a stack, with the folded ends at one side and the open ends at the other.  Use only two staples to connect the bottom side of the strip at the top of the stack to the topside of the strip directly underneath it.   Each staple should connect the middle point of each strips two open sections to the open sections of the strip beneath it.  Continue attaching all of the strips together in this fashion.  

5.    Spread apart and fan out the stack to form the circular sunflower by attaching together the bottom side of the most bottom strip to the top side of the strip at the top of the stack, placing two staples as mentioned in step 4.

6.    Cut out two circles from the stiff corrugated cardboard by tracing around a large and medium plate or platter, about 12” and 16” diameter respectively.   Glue with non nails the 16” diameter circle to the center of the bottom side of the sunflower.  Glue the 6” foam ring to the topside center of the sunflower.  

7.    Cut out a 12” diameter circle from black construction paper and glue on top of the 12” corrugated cardboard circle cut out.  Locate the center of the circle and cut out a small hole.   Thread the quartz clock spindle through the hole and attach the hands to the clock spindle (according the mfg., clock assembly instructions) Place clock numbers on the circle to create the face of the clock.  

8.    Place the clock mechanism into the center of the foam ring.  Use 4 small pins pushed through the clock face into the foam ring behind it to secure. Glue permanently into place if desired.

9.    Adorn the clock with brass fasteners pushed into places where the pedal openings are joined.

Courtesy Nicholas Rosaci, www.rosaci.com