All Photos: Karla Swoveland of It's The Little Things That Make a House a Home
With a little bit of creative thinking, our new key holder came to be. This is a simple project that will take, at the most, a couple of hours to accomplish.
Here's how to do it!
- A piece of wood that fit my desired height and width. Mine measures 14 & 1/8" tall by 3" wide.
- Painter's tape measuring 2" wide
- 2 different colors of paint preferably latex -- it washes off easily. (Editor's note: Try an interior with zero VOCs, like Sherwin-Williams Duration Home)
- 2 foam brushes
- Scrabble letters to spell out the word "KEYS" (Wood must be at least 3" wide for letters to fit side-by-side)
- Glue (either craft glue, wood glue or super glue)
- 2 hooks and screws to attach them (available at any hardware store
- 1 sawtooth hanger
Allow to dry for about 30 minutes. If you're impatient (like me) set up a fan to make the process go faster.
Then apply a strip of painters tape to the bottom of the wood lining it up perfectly with the bottom edge. Press it down thoroughly and wrap it around the sides of the wood, all the way around to the back.
And line it up perfectly against the top edge of the first piece of tape. This piece will be your spacer for each of the stripes. Don't worry about folding down the edges; you'll be placing and removing the spacer all along the length of the key holder.
It should be long enough to wrap around the sides of the wood and onto the back. Make sure these edges are firmly in place.
Your key holder should look like this.
Make sure your tape is lining up perfectly and that the edges of the tape strips (not the spacer) are firmly in place.
All of your stripes should be in place.
Then, using a foam brush, paint your second color onto the unmasked strips of wood. I used one of my favorites, Benjamin Moore - Stratton Blue #HC-142. This step needs to dry thoroughly, so turning on the fan again is a good idea.
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Reader comments (Page 1 of 2)
Great idea! Thanks for the easy-to-follow instructions!
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ReplyThis a great idea. As soon as I find my keys to get home, I'm going to do this.
LOL... funny!!!
You could also purchase a little straw like basket and instruct all family members including yourself to deposit all keys only in this basket upon one's arrival home.
ReplyI'm confused about the scrabble letters but this thing turned out so good I cant hardly complain.
ReplyAre you serious? Really, all this to keep track of keys? Looks like Dave has more sense than the lot of ya! Simple as it may be it is far too time consuming for the solution it presents.
ReplyBelieve it or not, emily29388, people do enjoy doing these kinds of things as hobbies. I'm sure it would be much faster and much simpler to just buy a basket, but that isn't always the point.
P.S.
It's a DIY project -- buying a basket isn't very DIY, is it?
Back in 1976 I had just moved to Florida and lived in the same building, upstairs from my cousin, Gini. She was forever misplacing her keys and would come up to get me because I had a "knack" for finding lost items. ((Actually, I would say a little prayer to Saint Jude and would always find the missing item))..Anyhow, I bought her a very small, brass bell on a keychain. After placing the keys on the keychain, when she wanted to find her keys, all she had to do is shake her purse. If she heard the bell, she knew the keys were in her purse.
ReplyIf the keys weren't in her hand to use, she always put them back in her purse, so she always knew where her keys were. She still has a bell on her key chain! Try it....it works (the prayer to Saint Jude!)- Gregg in Sarasota, FL
I love the idea. I just put nails by my desk to hang keys for my quick solution.
ReplyI have a keypad combination lock on the front door of our house. I can leave the house withhout keys, and always be able to get back inide. The best thing my husband did for me was place my car key around my driver's license and laminate the two together. I have had to use it several times since Sept to get in the car. (My hobby is locking the keys in the car.) I also have a remote beeper on my keychain which I keep by the front door. It has saved a lot of time getting out of the house. My office keys, the keys to the car if not in the car, and other misc. keys are on the keyring - but where the ring is in the house is always up for grabs. I am very organized in most other areas of live, and my house is spotless. Keys are my tragic flaw!
ReplyWELL WHAT IF U FORGET TO HANG THEM UP... SO U CAN STILL LOSE UR ..keys............
ReplyWell, we used to not lock our house, and we kept the car keys on a key rack by the door so we could find them. But guess what? Someone opened the door and took the car keys (which also had the house keys on them.) No keys or car in the morning! Had to get a new car and change the locks. Be careful where you put the key rack and keep your house or apt. locked, even while you are home.
ReplyYou have to remember to put your keys there
ReplyThat will never keep me from losing my keys... I use a metal "clip" and I ALWAYS clip my keys to my purse......never buy a purse that does not have a place to clip my keys. I have not lost my keys ever since I started doing this...........it's simple and there's no nails or paint or work involved. But....no one will ever do a news article about my idea.
ReplyI do the same thing, Barbara......only problem was teaching my husband where to find my keys and to return them there when he was finished with them!
melba.....the fix for that is give him a second set of YOUR keys and tell him to leave yours alone. My husband has a copy of all my keys and I have a copy of all his. I know, I know....men never put things back where they belong and consequently he will misplace his and probably need to borrow YOUR keys anyway right? Ha ha!
I loooooove this idea ! Perfect for my beach house :)
Replyhttp://thequeen-b.blogspot.com/
This is a great idea-so much more than just our simple black hooks-and the possibilites are endless as to how you can use your letters-cant't wait to check out the rest of your ideas!
ReplyI love this! Such a cute idea! Geez folks -- it's just fun. Good Lord.
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