HULTET bamboo dish wall clock

Materials: HULTET Bamboo plate, VATTNA wall clock, cable binder, acrylic paint

Description: First of all, this is not my own hack - I got the idea from here.

Photo: IKEA.com

But in the original hack there were no instructions, so I thought a more detailed description might help you. Also want it to be seen :)

You'll need a HULTET bamboo plate (~7€)and a cheap clockwork (I bought the VATTNA wall clock, because it was on sale (~2€).

Things to consider:
1. the length of the bolt, on which you fasten the nut (so the clockwork doesn't fall out) has to me a little thicker than the bamboo plate.
2. Both clock hands have to be bendable, so you can match the plate's shape.

How to build:
1. Drill a hole in the center of the plate, size should match the bolt of your clockwork.
2. Position the clockwork and bring on the borders. I used some rest wood and sawed it appropriately. Fix it with screws to the bamboo plate, but choose them carefully, so they don't come out on the other side!
3. Attach the middle part of the cablebinder as a hanger and fix it somehow (see the picture how I did it).
The two knobs at the bottom are for stability, I made them out of synthetic cork (wine bottle).
4. Paint the plate as you like :)
5. Bind the clock hands according to the shape of the plate.
6. Assemble the clockwork and enjoy ;)

~ Sergej Koala, Germany

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HULTET bamboo dish wall clock

Materials: HULTET Bamboo plate, VATTNA wall clock, cable binder, acrylic paint

Description: First of all, this is not my own hack - I got the idea from here.

Photo: IKEA.com

But in the original hack there were no instructions, so I thought a more detailed description might help you. Also want it to be seen :)

You'll need a HULTET bamboo plate (~7€)and a cheap clockwork (I bought the VATTNA wall clock, because it was on sale (~2€).

Things to consider:
1. the length of the bolt, on which you fasten the nut (so the clockwork doesn't fall out) has to me a little thicker than the bamboo plate.
2. Both clock hands have to be bendable, so you can match the plate's shape.

How to build:
1. Drill a hole in the center of the plate, size should match the bolt of your clockwork.
2. Position the clockwork and bring on the borders. I used some rest wood and sawed it appropriately. Fix it with screws to the bamboo plate, but choose them carefully, so they don't come out on the other side!
3. Attach the middle part of the cablebinder as a hanger and fix it somehow (see the picture how I did it).
The two knobs at the bottom are for stability, I made them out of synthetic cork (wine bottle).
4. Paint the plate as you like :)
5. Bind the clock hands according to the shape of the plate.
6. Assemble the clockwork and enjoy ;)

~ Sergej Koala, Germany

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iCork Clock

Materials: Kvissle, iHome, hot glue gun, drywall screws, Drill, magnets

Description: I first got the idea from the Kvissle Boom Box Hack.

I took my old iHome apart. The speakers didn't work and the some of the buttons were malfunctioning. So I got rid of all the unnecessary components.

I traced the clock screen onto the back of the cork top and cut it out with an Xacto knife, then hot glued it to the cork. The cork flaked a bit in some areas so if I redo it I might try another technique.

I positioned the circuit board and hot glued the button and nobs components directly to the inside of the box.

The top is held on by magnets which were hot glued as well.

The power cord was routed through the side hole of the box and i secured it to the wall using screws through the foam pad holes.

~ Mason R, California

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Ikea Message Center on the Cheap!

Materials: A cabinet door rescued from Salvage

Description: I happened across the AS-IS section of IKEA and found a lovely cabinet front. I was so happy as I lugged the $2.00 board to my cart. Probably too happy as I got weird looks from other customers. Crafters can attest to you though, Ikea'€™s AS-IS section is DIY Gold!

That $2.00 board with a little DIY love is now our family message center. If I was bright I would have taken a before picture but alas my happiness got in the way of my organization. Sorry.

We painted the cabinet front white to make it brighter. We then cut a piece of sheet metal to fit in the opening so that it would be magnetic.

I like color so we made the sheet metal a happy yellow color. We then made a design using blue painters tape and painted the rest white!

We then drilled three holes and installed nobs to hang coats on. I love the knobs at Anthropologie but I have founded if you really look that Hobby Lobby has similar ones for a fraction of the price.

Now it is hung in the hall using picture hangers and it holds coats, school forms, and a calendar from Hello Cuteness where I write our monthly menu plans!

See more of the Ikea door message board.

~ Tiffany S., Southwestern United States

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LACK table clock

Materials: LACK table and sticker clock

Description: It is very simple, the clock is stuck in position and made the hole for the mechanism. And ready to hang.

~ Miguel, Madrid, Spain.

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The frame hanger

Materials: Nyttja white frame 13x18, Lindsdal knob (or others)

Description: I had 2 new frames (bought here in Italy just 3 euros/2 pieces) and 2 knobs (taken years ago from old wardrobes).

One day I thought it was time to transform creatively these items into something useful and nice.... here you can see the result.

STEPS

1) drill at the middle of one side of the frame

2) sand the frame until it gets an old, used look, by using different qualities of sandpaper

3) screw the chosen knob; since the screw is created for the thickness of a wardrobe door, it will result longer: to fasten it to the frame, you should add one or more washers between

4) then put a picture in, or better realize something with a retro-taste by choosing images on magazines (it's cheap and creative!)

5) that's it! now you can hang by the wall your frame, and use it to hang neck-laces, bracelets, small scarfs or whatever you like!

~ serena, Milan, Italy

RIBBA clock hack

Materials: RIBBA frame

Description: This hack is kinda easy, but it's also quite hard to describe as it is very specific to what you want to have in the end.

The main steps are:
- Get a RIBBA frame, one of those with the mat for three pictures
- Get yourself three clockworks and possibly some watch hands you would like to use (make sure the hands fit the clock, otherwise use some superglue, to fix this ;-D). I used very quiet clockworks where the hand for the seconds never stops, looks better in my opinion.
- Mark the final positions of your watch hands and drill holes at these positions (8 mm in my case) in the back of the frame
- Prepare your clockworks: As every clockwork only uses one hand you have to cut the shafts or remove them at all. I used an scalpel and a wire cutter to strip mine down.
- Put something under your clockworks before fixing them to the back of the frame. This helps to shorten the shafts even more, so you don't need to put very much under the mat in the end and you have no problem when using the glass where it is etc.

Detail shot of a trimmed shaft

- Design and print yourself a clock-face you like, glue it onto the back of the frame
- Attach the watch hands and make sure they can run freely (you should check this earlier... ;-D)
- Put something under the mat and place it in the right position (I cut a new mat from very high white, thick paper, as the original was too yellowish and had some bucklings right after buying)
- Put everything back into the frame and enjoy your very unique and stylish clock

Back of the frame with three mounted clockworks and one hand attached for testing purposes

Some hints:
- I wanted to use the same watch hand for all clockworks. This made it necessary to glue the hands onto the bases of other hands, so they could fit the shafts. Check this before you start and keep it in mind.
- I also had to shorten my hands. Could be done with a scalpel and some super glue. Cut them at the "base", so nobody sees you shortened them...
- When you put something under the clockworks it can happen, that they can become too deep and stick out of the frame. No problem for me, as I mounted the frame with the supplied hanger to my wall. Try to use clockworks with short shafts or trim the shafts as far down as possible. Be careful with trimming, sometimes the watch hands won't find in the end...

I hope this hack can inspire some people to build interesting clocks.

You can find some more information, and my clock face on the website I provided. The blog entry is in German. See more of the Ribba clock.

~ flomei, Germany

How to: Create a personalised picture with Lack and decal

Materials: Lack

Description: I have an old LACK side table from IKEA that I no longer use.
My sister-in-law wanted me to make her something personal and from the heart. That is when I realized that I could do something fun with the old table.

1. I made a personal picture using Illustrator. I then send it to Parts of Sweden and let them print a furniture decal for me. They already have lovely decals so you don't have to know how to use Illustrator. You can choose between all the Disney motifs and many more.

2. Wait for the furniture decal to be delivered to your home.
3. Unscrew the legs.
4. Clean the table with a rag.

5. Remove the safety paper on the back of the sticker and place decal on the table.
6. To see how to place the decal you can see a videoclip on Youtube here. The video has some Swedish text but hey, you�ll learn some Swedish at the same time.

7. Attach whatever you can find at home that will make it easier for you to hang the picture on the wall. I bought this little metal thing and I am sorry to say that I do not know what it is called. However you attach it on the back of the picture.

8. Now hang it on the wall. Tadaaaa!!!!!

View more decals at Parts of Sweden.

Oh my deer!

Materials: Ung Drill, deer heat, wallpaper, spray paint, oval wooden plate

Description: Make a contemporary deer.
You don't need the glass and background of the Ung drill.
I spray painted the Ung Drill. And made a new background out of plywood. Because the cardboard is not strong enough to hold the deer head.

Glue the wallpaper on the plywood place in the frame and mount the deer head on the plywood. And it's finished.

See more of the Ung Drill deer head.

~ Lynn Ruisendaal-Bosch, The netherlands

The "WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT" hack

Materials: 2 Ekby Bjarnum brackets, 1 white Ekby Jarpen shelf (high gloss foil finish), circular saw or jig saw, coping saw, painters tape, round or square mirror of choice

Description: The mirror sits out from the wall just a bit (cuz the frame on back) so I had to measure inwards on the shelf.

Lay out the painters tape on the top surface of the shelf (this will allow a clean cut and prevent the finish from splintering).

Mark out with pencil on the tape your dimensions/outline of the mirror (where you're going to cut).

Set up and clamp your straight edge onto the shelf. (this is where your saws frame will ride against for the straight cut).

If using a circular saw: you will have to do a plunge cut. (This is where you lower the saw down onto your pencil mark and into the wood.) Starting from the one end of your mark, you saw forward as normal and stop at the other end of your mark. Now you have a shelf with a straight cut through the length of it.

Take your coping saw and cut from the outside towards the edge of your previous cut. And do the same for the other side. Now you have a nice recessed groove cut out of your fancy shelve.

Remove your tape.

*Easier and safer method is to use a jig-saw. I didn't have one at the time so I went the circular saw route. It requires more skill and patience than the jig-saw. I would recommend using the jig saw method if you have minimal wood-working skills. It's safer as well.

**If you use the jig-saw method, drill a hole in each corner of your layout. (hole must be bigger than the width of the blade) That way, the jig-saw blade can pass through and start in the corner and make its way down the length of the shelf towards the other corner. Of course, you still use your straight edge so your jig-saws frame can follow that making a perfectly crisp and square cut.**

Now to hang the shelf and mirror, you will need another set of hands. Assemble the shelving unit without the mirror and hold it up to the wall in your preferred location. Mark with pencil through the screw holes on each bracket. Now you can put your screw anchors into the drywall. (On mine I had one stud to screw into and the other was drywall. If possible, use the studs!) No anchors needed for the stud side though - only for drywall.

Once the anchors are in, put the assembled shelving unit (without the mirror) up to the wall and screw it 1/2 to 3/4 of the way in. This will allow you to slip the mirror into place.

Use construction adhesive on the mirror instead of double sided 3m tape (I went the DS tape route and it doesn't seem to stay too well). Have the other pair of hands put the mirror into place while you push the shelving unit into the wall. The groove you previously cut into the shelf will hold the weight of the mirror. Now hold it all, while you finishing screwing the rest of the way into the wall.

That's it!! Let me know what you think.....


Craig

~ Craig Arges, Kamloops, BC, CANADA

Bye Bye Bricks - a magnetic cover up

before

Materials: Spontan Magnet Boards, plywood, screws, rare earth magnets

Description: We were tired of looking at the original brick fire place in our main living space. The open fire box was changed into a gas insert many years ago and the room has been painted over 4 times, but the brick work remained.

As the brick work has to be maintained without being permanently altered, tiling it over and painting it over weren't viable options. Another idea was to add wood panels over but there is a safety concern.

An inspiration struck when we repainted another room and needed to take down the older style Ikea magnet boards in that room. The boards appeared to be the perfect candidate to be used as the cladding panels over the brick fire place.

I then devised and designed the plywood under structure to support the Spontan boards and in order to secure them to the frame, I made cleats with embedded rare-earth magnets.

Please see the result via the steps and photos.

1) Made the 2 vertical supporting pilaster frames out of 3/4" thick plywood. Each frame was tailored to the pilaster and friction fitted over it. 3 screws were screwed into the inside of the frame, with the shaft of the screws just penetrating in between the vertical brick mortar joints. The screws added security.

2) 4"h Horizontal cross bars (t-shape to add rigidity) were mounted to the vertical frames in 3 positions. At the very top, middle and lower portion to support the horizontal joints of the boards. The lower cross bar was placed well above the fire box.

3) Side frames were added to either side of the fire box. The plywood was positioned beside the brick surround of the fire box. There is no plywood in any direct or adjacent contact to any of the fire box metal frame

4) The Spontan boards come with keyslot mounting holes in the back but were only meant to be hung from the top. It did not suit my requirements so I made plywood cleats 1.5"h (fitted between the folded in edges of the Spontan). The cleats were drilled for 1/2" diameter rare-earth magnets, where were glued in with PL400 Construction adhesive. The glue has to cure for 24 hours before using.

5) Using a long level, I drew the first line at the top of the frame. Allowing for the thickness of the Spontan, to the ceiling in the center, I screwed the cleats in one row. Each cleat was spaced from the next one by 2". Each board required 2 cleats - top and bottom. There was some fiddling around of the cleats to ensure that each board was tight to the adjacent one.

6) Once the top row of boards was established, I secured the second set of cleats. For the exact spacing between the boards vertically, I used a 12" long steel ruler (which was just shy of the thickness of the Spontan. To get the correct thickness, 2 layers of masking tape were added to the ruler). Working sequentially, the second set of top cleats were mounted with screws). The best method was to mound each top cleat, put on the board to see the alignment. If slightly off, then re-mount the cleat until perfectly aligned. Once the top row of cleats was all positioned, then do the bottom cleats.

7) Two rows of boards were mounted. For our fire place, serendipitously, the Spontan boards worked out perfectly. 2 boards wide equalled to exactly to width of the fire box. The two lengths also exactly reached from the ceiling to the top of the fire box.

8) Besides the fire box, modification was required to fit the boards. I made the necessary cuts and notches using my 7-1/4" circular saw fitted with a Metal
Cutoff blade. Be sure to wear all safety gear as it creates a lot of noise, sparks and odour.

9) The modified boards were mounted with the cleats and the same method.

10) for the hearth, I was going to use the same Spontan but just happened to have some surplus veneered shelves from another source so that was used to cover the hearth bricks.

11) Finally, I again used an aluminum cabinet hanging cleat from another source to frame the inside opening of the fire box.

The end result completely transformed the room and covered up the eyesore of a tired looking brickwork.

The added bonus is that the entire Spontan cladding now acts as a giant radiator panel to distribute the heat from the fire box, so the fire does not need to be turned up high.

This is not recommended over a wood burning fireplace.

Thank you,

~ Peter, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Light Up Nose for Rudolph

Materials: STR�LA, Light Blub, Faux Taxidermy Deer Head

Description: What's a mounted Rudolph head without a light up nose? Just a lame old deer head, that's what! So if you have one of those cardboard taxidermy deer heads (or you can download a template to make your own here) and want to make it a bit more festive, I've got the perfect hack for you.

Here's what you'll need: a strand of battery operated red LED lights (STR�LA $3), a hollowed out light bulb that is sized appropriately for your deer head, some Krylon Looking Glass spray paint, electrical tape, and wire strippers.

Since I didn't want to be able to see the LED lights on the STR�LA strand, I sprayed the Looking Glass spray paint inside of the bulb and distressed it with a little water to get a faux mercury glass look.

Next you will need to remove any excess LED's from the STR�LA strand. Figure out how many led lights will fit through the opening of your light bulb. In my case 5 LED's could fit. I cut out the extra LED's from the middle, leaving as much excess wire as possible connected to my 5 LED's and the battery pack. Strip the last quarter inch of these wires and reconnect the battery pack wires to the led's. You will need to turn the battery pack on to make sure they are working, if not switch the wires.

Once the lights are working use some electrical tape to secure the wires separately. I also used the same electrical tape to bundle all the LED's together.

Then it's as easy as cutting a hole through a few layers of your Deer Head, fishing the wires through, and hiding the battery pack. In fact, if you use the template from Instructables (blown up 400%) the pack will tuck nicely in one of the cavities.

Now, invite some people over to your holiday party so they can admire your handy work.

If you'll like more details to create your own Mounted Rudolph Head come on over to my blog, The Ambitious Procrastinator.

~ Nikki Kelly, Denver, CO

Turn broken Ribba frame to mail/key holder

Materials: 2 Ribba picture frames, glue gun, hooks, contact glue

Description: I've had a Ribba frame that had been knocked down and broken, I've glued it back together couple of times and the last time it happened I just put it in my closet and forgot about it.

I wanted a keychain/mail holder so I put a good RIBBA frame of the same size (believe it's 6x7) using hot glue gun together (with the broken frame in the back).

I didn't include all 4 sides, leaving the top frame piece off to make sure I can put in my mail.

I used that piece and glued with contact glue at the bottom of the frame to use that piece to hold the hooks.

I drilled 3 small pilot holes to add 3 small hooks, cup hooks were too small so I used size 12.

I used small L BRACKETS to secure it to the wall and I was done!

I did the work thru the weekend since I wanted to make sure the hot glue gun and contact glue had dried and bonded.

My first DIY & Ikea hack, never realized how many different adhesives there are until now. I could've stuck with the glue gun but I also had some contact glue so I used them both. My hooks are a bit crooked but I will leave it, and the back was set crooked but since you can't see it it doesn't bother me much.

~ Jazmin, Queens, NY

Photo Wall Done Riktig

Materials: DIGNITET Curtain wire, DIGNITET Support/corner fixture + RIKTIG Curtain hook with clip

Description: Riktig is the Scandinavian word for right.

I wanted to create a photo wall that:
1) could be easily updated with new photos
2) wasn't too expensive
3) wasn't dependent on one business that might not be there in the future (I'm looking at you ixxi)

I used:
DIGNITET Curtain wire
DIGNITET Support/corner fixture
RIKTIG Curtain hook with clip
Big sheets of thick paper/cardboard
Glue (I used a liquid glue sponge thingie)
Photos
Cutting knife, ruler etc.

I believe this hack is pretty self-explanatory but some notes:
The hooks between the photos are made be combining two hooks.
The square photos are 20x20cm.
The black squares are 25.3x25.3cm.
The holes are 4mm in diameter and the centre of the holes are 1.2cm away from the sides/tops/bottoms of the black squares.
The distance between the black squares is 3.7cm.
Remember that distance when calculating the size of the 2:1, 3:1, supersized 1:1 or whatever shape you might want to create:)

I believe that's about it. The lamp is also from ikea (FORS�). The images in the bottom are a bit off because I ran out of hooks - Ikea is only 10 min away so I'll fix that soon. I don't have the total costs for this project but the IKEA items are dirt cheap:)

~ Andreas Larsen, Copenhagen