DIY key holder | How About Orange

May 01, 2009

DIY key holder

Here's what I did with that folksy flower design I made: a key rack. And hey, if you're going to drag out all the stuff to make one, why not make a few, I thought to myself. This is probably going inside our coat closet where the lighting is bad, so excuse me for not photographing it in action. Follow along if you want to make one.

1. I picked out a smooth, 4" wide pine board at Home Depot, and Alex cut it into 9" lengths for me. My job was to hold it steady, and I'm pleased to report I still have all my fingers. Sand the wood corners a bit to make them smooth.

2. Find some decorative paper you want to use on the front, or get a color laser print like I did. Trim your paper so it's 1/4" larger than your wood piece.

3. Paint the sides of your board a coordinating color. I did the back, too, so it would look more finished. I used acrylic paint.

4. Brush the front of your board with acrylic gel medium. I thinned it with a little water. You could use Mod Podge instead. Center the sticky side of the board over the back side of your paper and press it down. Flip the whole thing right side up and smooth out any bubbles with your fingers.

5. Turn it face down again and trim off the excess paper with an X-acto knife.

6. Apply more coats of gel medium over the entire surface of your board, letting each one dry before adding the next. I did three.

7. Attach hooks and hangers. Put some little felt squares on the back corners to keep the key holder from scratching your wall. (Or stick it up with wall mounting adhesive, but realize it might pull your paint off later when you want to take it down!)

These guys are waiting for something to happen to them. Hooks? Presents for people to hang as little pictures in a nursery? Hmm. Yet to be determined.

37 comments:

rads said...

perfect!!! i have always been procrastinating making one! now i know why :)

thanks!
Radiya

Lindsey said...

love this! hmmmm, i might have to make me one....

Grandma G said...

They turned out soooo cute!

Mum

Sun said...

<3 <3 <3 it ^^

marcy said...

ok...i am new to mod podge and used it yesterday for the first time -- how do i get the dried glue gunk off my cutting mat??? thanks-
marcybradford@yahoo.com

love your blog :)

jubistacha said...

Vau, this new print on key holder looks great! Could you make coaster for glass?

apparentlyjessy said...

So cute! :)

Tania said...

I think you should do a giveaway with a couple of them....I know I would love to win one! It would look so cute in my kitchen....I would hang my measuring spoons on them! Too cute!

Great work...I look forward to seeing what you do with them!

Take Care,
Tania

Emily Cole said...

How cute! They would look great as art in a baby's room! The key holder design is great too - thanks for spelling out the steps to make one... cool!

Tikimama said...

Thanks for this idea and instructions. What a charming idea! I like Tania's idea of using one in the kitchen for utensils!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Aww, thats so cute, thanks for the how-to! I'll be linking.

Unknown said...

Ooooo, I'm working on putting together a nursery right now, *wink wink*

Sue said...

wo words....BLOG CANDY!!! LOL
These are really adorable!!

IF Stjernen said...

What a great idea! I'm gonna make one for every one I know - they all trow their keys where they can't find them again ;-)

Thanks for the tuturial.

marta_tururu said...

nice and good idea!!

all the best from www.x4duros.com

Larissa Holland said...

well, cool.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Jessica, that is such a neat idea! Thanks for sharing it with us all.

Katie said...

These are beautiful! I would hang one in our nursery as art for sure.

LilithEvy said...

Wow! Beautiful!! I really like it! You should sell them!!

Amy @ Living Locurto said...

What a fun idea!!

Zoe said...

very cute! and handy!

Unknown said...

That's a GREAT idea. I love the flower design, very nice.

Pink of Perfection said...

abso-freaking-lutely gorgeous! am completely in love with your mad diy skillz!

Happiness Student said...

What a great idea. I admire your creativity!

Thank you for sharing.

Ashlee said...

You do realize that the inside of your closet looks much fancier than most people's regular rooms, right?!

Jessica Jones said...

Nah, you haven't seen the rest of the closet.

Pattern and Perspective said...

I need one of these in my kitchen so I can hang tea towels on it!

leta joy said...

These are so cute! Love this project. Inspiring me to finally deco my daughter's desk -- something that was supposed to be done a year ago. Oops.

Bead Up said...

Just found your blog -- LOVE IT! I don't even necessarily care for orange, but you make it look so good!! :) Thanks for sharing your creations!

BTW - I am on etsy too -- beadup.etsy.com

Whisker Graphics said...

What a great tutorial! Thanks for the idea, great instructions and photos!

Christy said...

How cute!

katie said...

i think you should do a giveaway! i think the aqua one is adorable. as is the brown! what a great idea =)

Yana said...

WOW! So simple and so cute... Go to create some :)

Anonymous said...

I <3 Modge Podge. :-)

What papers did you use?

I like the size of the graphics... Would it work with rubons adhered to paper? Or would the modge podge ruin the rubons?... Hmmm....

TFS! (loving your site, btw)

Nancy Ward said...

Hi!

Today I posted an entry on my blog with a link to this tutorial.

Would you let me know if that's OK?

Thanks,

Nancy Ward
http://paperfri4ndly.blogspot.com

Shae said...

Hi! I absolutely loved this! Im actually making my own, as a spin-off of yours. I used an oak board, and just painted with acrylic paint instead of using mod podge and messing with the cute papers cuz knowing myself it would go horribly wrong. this is my first time doing anything diy/creative and i was wondering if even though i just painted with acrylic paint do i still seal it with a polycrylic sealer/ can i seal with a polycrylic… the teal minwax can?

Jessica Jones said...

Yep, you can use that!