DIY: Texas Shaped Key Holder

I've had this DIY project on my list for a while now, but decided to get it done after my week in Chicago. We received a gift basket for Christmas full of "Texas" goodies - chili mix, pecans, etc. All of the things were held in this Texas shaped basket and Billy and I thought it was just hilarious. We knew we couldn't throw it away.

Since the basket was holding an entire gift basket, it was pretty sturdy. We don't have enough surfaces in our apartment to really need another basket, so we thought it might be fun to hang on the wall. I planned to paint it but then got the idea to put 2 hooks on the back and make it into a key hook by the door. 

I gathered a few supplies to get me started. I was going to paint the side of the basket with that Martha Stewart paint and a brush, but then opted to spray paint instead. Much faster. You'll only need one sheet of scrapbook paper but I was undecided at the time.

The first step is to deconstruct the basket. The bottom of the basket was a hard particle board type material and the sides of the basket were stapled to it. I tried a few different things to remove the side, but what ended up working best for me was the paper piercer from my Amy Tangerine stitching kit. Just be careful - I poked myself a few times.

Now you have two pieces to work with! It takes some work to get the pieces apart, but it makes the entire project much easier and neater so it's worth it.

I used a sheet of 12x12" scrapbook paper to cover the Texas shaped base. It was a little short on the edges, but I figured you wouldn't be able to notice when the basket was put back together.

The paper I used is from the Studio Calico Atlantic collection. I love the pattern, but was never able to incorporate it into my paper projects. I used Mod-Podge to adhere the paper and put a heavy coat over the top to protect the it from getting scratched/ripped by our keys.

Next up - paint or spray paint the basket sides. I used a box from an Amazon order and some Krylon spray paint I had on hand for this part. I sprayed on side, flipped it over and sprayed the other. It dried pretty quickly, but I gave it about 20 minutes to be sure.

While that is drying, I measured the covered base and screwed in two hooks. 

Then, once everything is dry, put your basket back together. It would've been much easier to staple gun the sides back to the base but I don't have one so I used a hammer and nails. It was still pretty simple. 

Ta-da! The finished product! Sorry for the dark pictures. I hung this near our front door where we get basically no light at all. It's nice to have a little place to keep my keys. They were previously kept in a bowl near the door or wherever I decided to leave them. Our entry way is a weird space that I'm never quite sure if we should decorate or not. I'm happy to have this little project done and up on the wall.

Comments

[Nancye]

That turned out really cute!