Template 1: Keys 751 - 760
I'm enamoured with the idea of making "ten keys ten ways" (an experiment I've done once before with Keys 501 - 600). This time I decided to try different versions of paper keys. I started by making ten templates of keys I had around the house. Template 1 was derived from a Christmas decoration:
I made two paper quilled keys to start (one from standard quilling paper and the other from wider, hand cut quilling paper) using Template 1 as a guide:
I have a bit of experience with paper quilling so these keys were fairly fun and straightforward to make.
For Key 753 I decided to try my hand at paper mache. The basic shape of this key is made out of rolled up newspaper. I covered the newspaper with recycled tissue paper and paper mache paste. I gave up on making an exact replica of the original key decoration. I'm glad I did. And not just because the design was beyond my paper mache skill level - which it was - but more because I didn't want to imitate the work of others (I guess I'm still doing that though). The key was mostly white when it was dry; I painted it with a metallic rust paint. It looks OK - a bit on the crude side - but also somewhat ancient and mysterious looking.
For my next paper venture (Key 754) I embossed vellum paper. First I drew a picture of the key (based on the template) and then traced it onto the vellum paper - which turns white when pressed - with an embossing tool (a stylus with a ball tip on the end).
Key 755 is a paper sculpture. I love the beautiful paper this key is made of, but it is a bit soft - next time I will use something that will hold the shape better.
Key 756 is made from homemade paper clay. I've wanted to make paper clay for keys since last January when my husband found a single packaged roll of toilet paper on the road (I know, weird, what was it doing there?):
I soaked the toilet paper in water, ripped it into shreds, added some paper mache paste, mineral oil, flour, and joint compound and beat it all together with my kitchen mixer. It looked like luscious icing until the pink joint compound dried. I was pretty happy with how the paper clay turned out.
I painted Key 756 a metallic blue.
Somewhere around Keys 755 and 756 I traced the drawing I had made and spent a bit of time getting each side even with the other side. Next I made a paper cut out that I could trace around - something quite a bit more useful than my original cereal box cardboard template.
Key 757 is a pop-up card. Really it was simple in the end. But figuring out how to make it WAS REALLY #%$&IN HARD!!! I almost gave up. But only almost. It looks fine. And it looks like it was no big deal. But it was - truly! A challenge. Took me most of an head scratching evening to sort it out.
Key 758 was also a challenge. I'd mucked about a bit with Terraskin paper before. It doesn't have fibres so it can be moulded any which way. This is actually my fourth attempt at making this key. After the first three failures I did some little experiments. In the end I pushed various bits of jewelry into the paper to get the look I wanted and then went over everything with an embossing tool. It also took several attempts to figure out how to light the photo so that the embossing showed up. But it's kind of cool...a key made out of impressions.
Key 759 was fun! And not that hard! Hurray for something different and less stressful! Note: this key would not have been so easy if I hadn't refined the shape through all the other keys that came before it - there's a life lesson in that somewhere.
Key 760 is the paper cut out I used for Keys 757 - 759 covered in glitter. That was also pretty fun.
And here's a picture of all the keys that grew out of template 1:
Now on to Template 2...
