K is for KEYS

13 Apr 2020
A to Z Challenge
K is for KEYS

Can you believe it's already the 13th of April? The time is flying, and I'd like to say we are having fun, but honestly - I'm not sure of that. So, let me pose the question to you - are you having fun?

When I chose to participate in the April A to Z Challenge, I wanted to have a theme. I thought about different things such as Recipes, Quotes, Animals, Life, Genealogy, and Family - but I figured these would be saturated with write-ups. Two of my favorite pastimes are Genealogy and Crafting. I chose the latter.

If you have been following my blogs, you learned that I am a paper crafter. I started out with scrapbooking, then moved into mixed media and altered art. I love doing all of it!! Knowing which one to do daily seems to be the kicker as I have many projects that are waiting to be done. For instance, scrapbooking or creating journals for my daughter's wedding/honeymoon back in 2016. Or their Italian vacation in the summer of 2019. There are all those photographs of my son and his two boys, then there is that box of photos from random adventures. I think you get the picture, right?

Daily, I tell myself today is the day...grab the photos and start creating layouts - well, I sit at my desk and I begin some other kind of creation...if you are a crafter, do you have that problem as well? Now, if I was on a deadline - that would be no problem. I'd get the project knocked out and I'd be ready to move on to the next one on the list. I suppose that's what I need to do. Update my TO DO list!

Before I move forward with today's letter, let me recap what I've written about so far:

A was for Altered Art

B was for Bags, altered

C was for Cards, handmade

D was for Dyed Papers

 E was for Ephemera

 F was for Franken Papers/pages

G was for Glue Books

H was for Heart to Heart Soul Creations (H2HSC2020)

I was for Inks

J was for Journals

If you missed any of them, please go back and read them. I'd love to hear your comments!

Being a paper crafter who dabbles in mixed media and altered art, I have a lot of 'stuff' that plays very well within both of those areas. Today's letter is K- I've chosen to write about KEYS!

Keys play a role in our lives every day. At least in my life they do. I use a key to access my home. I use a key to access the mailbox. I use a key to start my car. There are many uses for a key. There is even the "key to my heart" cliché! I use keys when I craft. 

Now you may be asking yourself, how do keys play into crafting? That's easy...mixed media and altered art projects! I have all sorts of keys in my crafting supplies. I have small ones, large ones, vintage ones, and I even have a Jailer's key. Yes, you read that right!

Keys in my stash

I'll start with the Jailer's Key. That's the largest key I have in my stash. In fact, this key is an antique. I was working on a scrapbook several years ago for a family friend and the photo I was working on was of a man who was a Jailer. I thought, wouldn't that be cool if I had a Jailer's key to incorporate into the scrapbook layout? So off I went - on a hunt to find keys...I ended up in a small town outside of where we lived, and they had several different buildings there for different businesses. There was a Bar*B*Que stand, a Boutique, a Wood crafting site and then there was a building that said, 'antiques' on the front door. BINGO!!!! Just what I needed so I went in. I told the employee what I was looking for and they directed me to the cabinet up by the cash register. They HAD keys...all shapes and sizes. Vintage Keys...I was in crafting heaven with those keys. I could have bought them all! LOL - Funny thing is, this employee knew the history of many of those keys in their cabinet. It was amazing...! 

I bought 5 keys that day. This is the only one I have left in my stash. As you see, it's quite large. I'm saving it for a future mixed media project. 

Keys come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I remember my dad having a ring of keys that he carried on his beltloop day in and day out. I always wondered if he knew what they all went to? I'm sure he did, but to me - they were just keys! 

When I'm making vintage scrapbook layouts or vintage journals - I like using the bronze keys (pictured above). They can be bought in a package of a few or a quantity of 100 or more.  I always have keys in my crafting supplies. Large and small ones. 

 A few years ago, I created a mixed media canvas called, DREAMER. At the bottom on the right-hand side, there is a quote. If you look closely at the picture, you will see beads, pieces of tulle, chipboard pieces, eyelash fibers, lace, filigrees, stamped images, inked papers, and a KEY. 

Mixed Media Canvas I made a few years ago

On the canvas itself, I started out by painting it with a variety of different colors.

You can't see it very well, but there are Cherubs on the paper in the background of the canvas. When I painted the background, I wanted to blend the paint into the actual piece of paper.

The quote says, "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world" by Harriet Tubman. 

Next time you see a key lying around, you might want to pick it up and save it. Never know when you might want to use it in a project! 

Have a GREAT day! 

Heart to Heart Soul Creations

H2hsc2020

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