Skeleton Key Wind Chime

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For the latest issue of VintageKC magazine, a vintage home décor, fashion, and DIY magazine, a handful of other bloggers and I were challenged to create wind chimes out of vintage, reused or thrifted materials.

Immediately, I thought of skeleton keys. What’s more wind chime-y than keys clinking together?

Luckily, I had quite a few on hand. After I expressed my love for old skeleton keys to my tool-savvy grandpa a while back, he gives them to me any time he comes across any—and I’ve amassed quite the collection. (You can find them at flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores, too.)

The next question was how to structure the wind chime. What was going to hold my skeleton keys in place? I wanted something that would hold up outdoors and that would go with the rustic look of the keys. Randomly, I’d purchased an old mattress spring at a flea market for $1 a while back. Don’t ask me why. I thought it would come in handy sometime. And it did!

supplies

I decided to use the mattress spring as the base for hanging my skeleton keys. I strung the keys to the spring using 24-gauge craft wire. An old keyhole plate (also from my grandpa) completed the look. It’s rustic, whimsical and completely vintage.

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Pretty, huh? I can’t wait to listen to it chiming in the breeze.

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What would you use to craft your own wind chime? The beauty of wind chimes is that they’re so diverse! The possibilities are seemingly endless.



Related articles:
Published in VintageKC Magazine: Winter 2014
My Column in VintageKC Magazine: Fall 2014
Published in VintageKC Magazine!

1 Comment

  1. Vicki
    March 19, 2015

    Cute idea – love it!!

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