Design-Aholic: Key to my Art

Haha, I feel clever with that title! :)

One of the ~~million~~ 10 projects or so I did between Friday and Sunday night this week, is this shadow box Key Framed Art piece (did you like that teaser list of projects Saturday?!):

I purchased the set of 7 vintage inspired keys with a gift card from Pottery Barn (Thanks Sandy!). They were $19 with free shipping, and you can see them here. They were another item from my "wists" (see left frame, toward the middle...) When I unwrapped them, truthfully I was disappointed, but was rejuvenated Saturday when I came across the perfect frame on clearance at HomeGoods. $10? Yep. Check. (Oh, and side note... you will be blown away by what I scored at HomeGoods this weekend! I'll share that over the week)

So, here's what I did.

I had to ~~dismember~~ dismantle this insanely well built frame that I paid peanuts for. Like, it took the big guns to take apart and pop that odd artwork out. Much more difficult than anticipated! The glue was like a 1/4" thick so it left a mark on the fabric. Lucky me, after the frame in a frame project I did a few weeks back, I had scraps of fabric that was almost a perfect match. I cut a square out and used some spray adhesive to attach. I left the edges looking raw intentionally.

(yes, it did take a boxcutter, scissors, a flat head screwdriver, and the end of a hammer to remove the middle plaque. And I thought I was strong. My art kicked my ass.)

Next, I decided how the keys would be arranged. I ended up only using 6 of the 7 keys since one had a bulky midsection and wouldn't have been glue-able nicely.

I used the hot glue gun, and attached each key in two places to the fabric.

I sprayed the frame with some semi gloss black spray paint, to match the black velvet interior shadow box, and because the brown had some scratches.

Then, I finally had to reassemble the monster frame. I re-glued the velvet panels that lined the shadow box section, and hot glued the wood frame onto the back of the frame once again.

Ta-Da!

I'm so glad the keys grew on me! While they're not real vintage, or even real patina-ed, I decided I like the color green that some of them have. Instead of framing each key seperately, in this piece they look like a series, and will go well with the colors in the new office. :)

I can't wait to show you the art work in it's place in the new office! But, we're putting the finishing touches in there, and doing final cleaning up, so I can't just yet. It'd be embarrassing. Trust me. :)

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