In order to keep my crafty mojo going, I recently signed up for two swaps in my Art Charms group. The first one I am going to show off is for the Altered Keys swap. I just love keys, and love to alter things, so this swap was perfect for me.
The hardest part of this swap was deciding which keys I could part with. For some reason, I just love them. Perhaps it is the symbolism of new opportunity and success that attracts me to these random objects.
I started off by adding a nice blue patina to all of my keys. It is almost hard to see due to all the crazy embellishments. On this one I layered filigree, a charm I made and then the bottom was wrapped in copper wire and crystals.
This is another one of my favorites. I think it is the sentiment that I need to remember from time to time!
I love the smashed button on this one. I got the idea to do smash the buttons from seeing some awesome charms on Pinterest. I had a bunch of old metal buttons that I had patina'd a long time ago. I removed the shank and then pounded it flat before attaching it to my key. The heart embellishment is a broken charm from the next project.
These charms are for the Boho Chic swap. Now, at first I did not think I was going to join up, but after seeing some ideas online and within my group (Thanks Peg!) I totally jumped on board. I hope that they fit the theme. I started with the Chinese heart charms that I just found at a local scrapbook show. They were brass in color, but I changed that with the help of the Vintaj patinas. I thought this color palate helped to carry out the intended theme. I then wrapped copper wire around the top. This added texture and also took away from the heart shape, which I actually like. I tried to add another element in many other ways, but ended up deciding that simple was best and left them as is.
I am looking forward to seeing the return on these very fun swaps. Thanks as always for stopping by.
Cheers,
Rhea
