Instead of just a bunch of photos for our family room gallery wall I mixed it up a bit with a wood veneer monogram, a framed fabric swatch, and framed keys. These pieces give the eye a place to rest amongst all the photos. I love oval frames, but I always feel that they force you to crop pictures too much. I prefer to use them to display other items. In this case, I used a scrap of leftover fabric from the dining room chair slipcovers in one frame. I made key art for the other frame.
Here is how I did it:
Supplies:
- wood veneer (leftover from wood veneer monogram)
- decorative keys (I used scrapbook embellishments from K&Company found at Michael’s)
- white spray paint
- glue
- frame (I found the oval frames at Target)
Step by Step:
Spray paint the keys white. I left mine attached to the cardboard they came on, but I do not recommend this. They were difficult to remove afterwards and I had to use a little sandpaper to clean up the edges of each key. Instead, remove them first and place them on wax paper to spray paint.- Use the paper insert from the frame to trace the shape onto the wood veneer. Cut out the wood veneer oval.
- Determine the arrangement of your keys. Depending on the size of your keys and frame, you could do one big key or a set of smaller ones. I selected my favorite keys and used 5 total. I placed the largest key in the middle and the smaller keys on each side.
- Glue (I used Elmer’s All Purpose) the keys onto he wood veneer.
- Insert wood veneer into frame. Note: The thickness of the keys may make for a tight fit. You may need to remove extra cardboards or inserts that came in the frame.
- Hang with your gallery wall and enjoy!
I shared this project here:
I love to see things made with keys, your framed ones look lovely!
I love this! It turned out great!
What a great idea to use scrapbook embellishment keys! I am going to use my coupon tomorrow and get some myself. That is so much better (and probably cheaper) than searching around for such decorative old real keys. Wonderful idea to add something other than just pictures to your gallery.
These are cute! Love the Idea of using keys in a frame!
Just fell upon your blog this morning as I was sipping my tea. I am really enjoying it and wondered where you purchased the picture frames for this project. Did you have to paint them as well?
PS. Love your slip covered chair project…I need to do this as well but I have the West Elm Porter chair which is a bit shorter than the IKEA one. Their slip covers are a bit more $$.
Welcome Kristi! The oval picture frames are from Target. They came in white. The other white frames are all from Target as well. I found the prices comparable to Ikea frames, but the Target ones are standard sizes.
For your slipcovers, if buying one for a pattern is too pricey, you might want to consider my other slipcover technique: http://www.tealandlime.com/2012/01/easy-nursery-rocker-slipcover/. This should work really well on dining chairs, because the lines are simple. Use fabric with a bit of stretch and pin tight. You should get a nice tailored look!
Thanks for the inspiration, Jackie! I just love your blog and really aspire to be 1/2 as good as you are.
http://homemademodern.blogspot.com/2012/05/copycat-craft-framed-keys.html
Would you add me to your blogroll by chance?