Lord of the Rings Clock

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

After too many days of miserable quarantine blues, my roommates and I desperately needed something to pep up our spirits. My birthday came ’round and we opted to do a craft project based on a Hobbit clock tutorial my roommate found on Imgur! We’re an artistic lot and Lord of the Rings is one of our most beloved fandoms. What was originally meant as a birthday gift from my roommates became a group project for all of us to do.  We are most pleased with the results and so I thought I’d share with you all!

In case you would like to make one for yourself, here is how we did ours:

Materials we used:

• Clock (we used this one from Amazon)
• A high quality map print of Middle Earth (whatever area you like best!)
• Sharpie
• Pencil
• X-Acto knife
• Spray adhesive
• Parchment paper
• Gold gel pen
• A good cutting surface

Build steps:

1. Take apart the clock. Save the paper backing.

2. Use the glass from the clock to choose which section of the map you’d like to use.

3. Draw a circle in pencil using the paper backing from the block as a stencil on the map print.

4. Cut out the circle with an X-acto knife

5. Place the circle cutout on the circular glass facing

6. Draw marks at the approximate number markings of a clock (12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

7. Write out the hobbit meal times on parchment paper in pencil

8. Trace over the words in gold pen (the original tutorial called for gold leaf, and it looks incredible! But  I didn’t have any, so we used a gold gel pen)

9. Tear them into strips to look more organic

10. Spray adhesive onto the back of each piece and place them onto the circle cutout (we guessed when “Afternoon Tea” or “Second Breakfast” might be)

11. Put clock back together

12. Hang it on the wall and enjoy with a pint! Then check the door. Dwarves might be coming to dinner.