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Turn Typewriter Keys into Nifty Recycled Jewelry Pieces

Repurposing old typewriter keys (as seen in photo 1) is a neat way of upcycling an outdated object and giving it new life while creating a conversation piece. Old timey typewriters with interesting keys are a no-brainer to transform into a unique piece of eco-friendly jewelry, such as cufflinks, rings, necklaces, bracelets and even earrings.

To get started, you need to hunt up timeworn typewriting machines (as seen in photo 2) that folks are trying to get rid of. This isn’t terribly hard as they are often a common sight at thrift shops, flea market, pawn shops and garage sales. CraigsList.com is a terrific source, too. Simply hack the keys off their stem and grind or file down the backing down until smooth. If that all seems a bit of a nuisance to you, there are plenty of folks that will sell just the keys online as well on sites like Ebay and other similar sources.  This means that someone has gone through the work of removing the keys for you and you can buy one or many depending on what you are designing.

You can get clever with the key you select, too. You can try to dig up a key that has your first initial for a monogram appeal or you can use some of the more unorthodox keys for something fun and unexpected, like the SHIFT, TAB or even an exclamation point! If you are making a bracelet, you can fish for keys that spell out an actual word, such as L-O-V-E. Let your imagination run wild.

Once you’ve got your desired key, simply super glue it to a pendant base or whatever mount you plan to use to create your piece of jewelry. Mounts (also called “blanks”) can be purchased at your local craft shop or online pretty inexpensively. After you wait a few hours for this to dry, you can embellish it further if you wish or just go ahead and wear it. Easy!

If you don’t have the time to go digging for an actual key and are okay with the appearance of a vintage typewriter key, but don’t necessarily need the real thing--a shortcut cheat is to print some out on your computer or buy these pre-cut paper sheets that have the look of an old key that you can still transform into believable jewelry without any hassle.

If you aren’t the crafty type, but love the look of vintage typewriter jewelry, you can certainly purchase a fully made piece (as seen in photo 3) on sites such as Etsy.com, and from a talented artist like Brenda Weber from Autumn Place Arts. We promise we won’t tell anybody! Shhhhh!

Old cash registers and adding machines (ya know, before we had calculators!) are also a great target for this type of DIY jewelry, and even computer keys  or video game buttons can be used for a more mod look if that’s you prefer.

Photo Credits:

Photos 1 and 2: courtesy of Creative Commons License

Photo 3: http://www.eco-artware.com/catalog/NB3-typewear.php?c=cufflinks