Keys 376 - 380 - Holding Out for Quality and other Discoveries

Key 376: I like the blue and orange combinations on this key and am intrigued by the centre piece of unknown origin on the one side.

Key 377: the resin on the one side was all strange and stringy when I went to use it (most likely because I ran out of "working time" and also possibly because I didn't mix it well enough); not wanting to be wasteful I used it anyway. It looked just as bad when it dried as it did when I put it on. What was I thinking? I tried to cover up the weirdness with several additional layers of resin. Yes. So in the end I used - wasted? - even more resin than I would have had I just thrown out the bad resin in the beginning.

The extra resin didn't really improve things. However, I'm keeping this key with all it's lumps and bumps: the end piece on the one side is lovely and I like the green-coloured metal of the kissing kids on the other side. Mostly I'm keeping this as a reminder that's it's OK to hold out for quality and not use something that is clearly no good just because it might be wasteful. Kind of like burning the butter in the pan and then cooking everything in it; better to just wipe out that untasty mess and start over.

Key 378: This key was also resin-challenged. Other than that I like the shape and the glittery bits in the "lock" (or should I say "unlock") part near the end.

Key 379: is made from an old fold up easel leg that was being thrown out during last spring's office clean up day. The whole key feels a bit "cleaner" because the easel leg is lacquered in black paint and the jewelry bits are bold. Also - resin success!

Key 380: has lovely shimmery beads from a necklace on the inside of the bracelet that I used for the "handle" of the key. There are different broaches on either side of this key. The pieces at the end are made from an earring. One day I will take a photograph that can show off those sparkles and shimmers.