Sunday 19 October 2014

Tips, Tools and Techniques - Painted Keys

Hello! Here's our regular feature where we share tips, tools & techniques that have caught our eye, things we have Pinned, and things we have tried. These are probably not going to change your life(!) but might make it a bit easier...
I have no idea how I accumulated so many keys - it certainly isn't for the all the doors in my mansion!! I finally got round to sorting them out and decided to make them a bit more pretty as well, by painting with nail varnish!

This is how they started off.... and yes that is an estate agent key ring from 10 years ago *shame face*!
I took them all off the key ring and soaked in vinegar. Not sure if this is really necessary, but I thought it would get rid of any grease etc before painting. Plus it made them nice and shiny!
 I just wanted to paint the tops, so used masking tape to mark off the sections.
 Next I chose a range of greens and blues from my nail varnish collection. [Can you tell that blue and green are my favourite colours?! Perhaps so many similar shades of varnish is a bit excessive though?!}
I painted each side of the key top with 2 coats of colour and then sealed it with a layer of clear nail varnish. As with painting nails, you have to be patient and let it dry properly between each coat.
I have to confess getting a little bit OCD and coding the keys by area of the house i.e. both front door keys are green.....
Apart from waiting for the varnish to dry, this was a really quick project and makes me smile every time I look at my keys now!

I now need to make myself a pretty keyring to go with them - any ideas?

14 comments:

  1. You don't need a keyring when your keys look like that! Really cool idea, people (like me!) with loads of old keys in the house could varnish them up and use them to decorate...e.g. instead of shiny pebbles in a glass or glued onto photo frames. I also have lots of blue and green nail varnish, I like your style!!!

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    1. Thanks Joanna. Love the idea of having a glass full of brightly coloured keys! Glad to hear that I'm not the only one with a mild obsession about blue/green varnish ;) x

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  2. They look really pretty, I've had to label mine to remember where they're for - but maybe in the new year I'll paint them too.

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  3. What a good idea. My daughter has painted her front door key with nail varnish, and then put spots on it.

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  4. I think it's sensible to colour code keys, not OCD.

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  5. A simple but effective idea and each time you get your keys out, those lovely colours will bring a smile to your face :)

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  6. Smart smart smart idea that I will copy b/c those inside, outside, patio, tool shed, work keys are just a metal mess! I hope I have enough keys to paint so I can carry a rainbow in my purse. Mahalo for the "why didn't I think of that?" idea!

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    1. Mahalo! Love the idea of creating a lovely rainbow - hopefully you'll have enough keys! x

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