Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Mantle Clock

My grandmother had a lovely little mantle clock, which my mother inherited from her, and she placed it in a spot of reverence atop the china cabinet.  My father, who always likes to fuss with things decided he could make this clock "more better!!", and proceeded to ... well ... destroy it.  He chopped off the delicate flared sides, took out the clock works to fix them, and was surprised that when he put it all back together it didn't work anymore.  So it sat on top of the china cabinet for many more years with its butchered sides, and I'm sure my mother ached every time she looked at it. 

Eventually, my parents came to sell their country home and started getting rid of things ... sort of.  My mother decided the little clock was beyond beautiful any more and beyond any sort of repair and tossed it in the bin for garbage.  I hated to see the little clock go, and quietly retrieved it and brought it home.  It sat on my bookshelf only as a little curio, with no glass covering its face, no hands telling frozen time, and no life left in it. 



Shortly after my mother died, I was compelled to bring the clock out to the kitchen, and saw that the works inside were not bolted in and I removed them and set them on the counter. 




As I looked at the works, I was intrigued by all the gears and cogs and thought it would make a nice little display outside of the clock.  All of a sudden, the clock works started whirring and turning!  It was slightly eerie and surreal, as these works hadn't moved in many, many years!  I stood fascinated and watched the clock give its last little gasp of life.  It has sat still since that day. 






Another interesting thing about this clock is the cute curved back door. 
 



The interior handle is rather fancy. 





I started thinking of ways to use the clock and show off that door.  I thought about using it to store some of my sewing notions, but it seemed a bit impractical.  Then it came to me!  I have a tiny mouse that used to belong to my son.  A mouse with no house. 
 





So over the last little while I have transformed the clock into a little mouse house.  I painted up a tiny china cabinet.




Added some china and a sewing machine :)



Mice drink tea ... so ... I knitted up a tea cozy for his delicate tea pot.


The clock wouldn't accommodate a decent bed, so I made up a tiny bedroll.


... patchwork of course ...



A knitted rug to keep the feet warm.



A table big enough for mouse-sized cups of tea.


It will still sit on my bookshelf, but with a new secret purpose. 



Thanks for visiting!

Wendy

12 comments:

  1. A wonderful story..and a pretty house with all cute things to keep him warm this winter. What a lovely idea..Gaia

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    1. Thanks Gaia! I have a few more ideas, but now that I've posted about it I'll probably lose interest and move on to something else. Wendy

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  2. Wow, wow, wow, wow ,wow! I love this, great little story, with a fantastically sweet ending, you do your Mum proud! :)

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  3. Ooh Wendy, I just loved this post and have a feeling both you and I are walking a little down memory lane with our thoughts and posts...
    I wish you could have heard me saying " Awwwwww that's lovely as I saw how you had furnished that little home for Mr mouse!
    A heirloom in dead!
    Sending you kind thoughts...
    love Maria x

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    1. Thanks so much Maria. I've been quite overwhelmed for the past few years with clearing out two homes of my parents. Deciding whether to keep/toss/donate sooooo many items. I like to find new purpose for some of the items, especially when they were loved once upon a time. And all of this does evoke revisiting the past again and again. Wendy

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  4. Clever and absolutely adorable! LOVE the tea theme and the polka dots inside the tea cupboard.

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    1. Thanks Stephanie - I love polka dots, especially on this small scale :) Wendy

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  5. Squeeeeal! I want come over to your house to play!!!!!

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    1. Sure, just be sure to bring your paint pony! :) Wendy

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  6. This little mouse house inside a clock is absolutely adorable Wendy. I love all the little touches and that bed roll, wow.
    What a lucky little mouse and I can see why you kept the clock it's lovely. I would've had a hard time parting with it too.......

    Claire :}

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    1. Thanks Claire ... I think he's a lucky mouse too! :) Wendy

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