(n.) Cabindo: A condo on a lake, among tall old trees. Half cabin, half condo. My first home. This is a running journal of the renovations, projects, and general shoestring budget craziness.


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Monday, June 16, 2014

All Keyed Up

My Grandfather the engineer loved tools. At one point several years ago as he was getting older, my Grandmother was tidying up his extensive assortment of tools and gave me a box full of keys. This accidental collection of unusable or orphaned pieces seems to have grown over the course of many decades, as there were both shiny new keys, and older worn pieces ornate enough to be art.
I've moved several times since then, and had put the keys in a 'safe' place somewhere along the line......famous last words.
Naturally, I didn't see them for years until just recently when I opened a random box labeled 'office desk'. It was all keys and pens.
I blame the cats.

Name: Navy
Likes: long walks on the porch, snuggles, and grouping things together

She really is a bit of a hoarder and likes making piles of things. Mostly her toys and dolls. She only likes the ones she can mother, no jingles or non-soft cat toys for this little lady.

"Don't you touch my babies, mama!"
-As she sprung into the frame to keep an eye on me

New rug? Needs babies!
STAT.
Those are her two favorites.

As usual, I digress.
So, I love shadowboxes. Very much. We have a storied past, and bright future together; me and shadow boxes. I had gotten a large (~1.5'x3') one several years ago on sale for dirt cheap, earmarked for displaying Grandad's keys. It too was in a 'safe' place for a while.
When the keys resurfaced the other day, I went about getting them in said shadow box before I lost one or both of these key ingredients again.

Materials: Ruler.Chalk. Hot Glue Gun. Wine. Keys. Shadowbox.

I counted out the keys and got really lucky that they, along with two key rings, numbered such (36) that they would all space out neatly within the frame. Because no one deserved to be either left out or crammed in.
(Side note: here is a tumblr that will make all the OCD pieces of you happy)
Things were going well as I measured out a grid for the keys and made a chalk mark at each point where a key would sit.
I put all the keys on the board in a rough approximation of where they would go, and started to rearrange them in the most attractive order I could muster; distributing like items and putting the best ones towards the middle.
Then I realised that I had made 13 too many little chalk marks......and the chalk wouldn't come off. Whoopsies.
Cross that wine off the materials list I suppose?
Nah.
It turned out to be a happy accident in the end. I just scooted the keys in between each chalk mark, and hot glued them down. #wineforthewin


The little blue chalk marks add a lot of interest and charm to the piece. What a good mistake!



I showed it to my Mom (the daughter of my Grandfather), and she thought it was great. I did not have a suitably honorable place for it in my home; so it will be going to live on a prominent wall in her kitchen.


I'm so pleased with how it came out, and glad I finally was able to put it together, especially in time for Father's Day this year. Even though Grandad isn't with us anymore, he was a fantastic father to his small herd of girls (5!), and it makes me happy to have things of his displayed and enjoyed on a daily basis.
Here's looking at thinking of you, kid.
:)


-Lindsay

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