DIY Keyboard Wall Art

Christmas has come and gone, and I am finally getting back to posting about some of the DIY projects that we tackled over the holidays.

One of them was a keyboard wall art project that my daughter and I made for her boyfriend's parents. If you thing high school boyfriends are hard to buy presents for, try their parents...

We had a few old keyboards laying around the office and I had been seeing different projects on Pinterest using the keys, so I though I might give it a try. The first step was popping off all the keys from the keyboard. I have to admit, with the screwdriver, it was quite fun! I ended up putting them all into a basket to sort through them. I have a few other projects planned for these keys that you will hopefully see in the near future.

Preparing the keys was another step that I didn't really thing about. If they are dirty, obviously wash them with soap and water first. You know how gross keyboards can get. Then you need the back of the keys to be flat so that you can glue them properly. I used a belt sander and some help from my daughter. She held the sander upside down on the table to keep it steady. I took one of the keys, clamped it into a vice grip wrench and gently pressed the key onto the sander to remove the parts sticking out that connected it to the board. This is a loud process, and it will take some time to get your grip just right to make it work. Have patience, and if you really need one key, maybe start with another key just in case you mess it up first.

We were spelling out three words: "Fields" "Est" "1989". This is their last name and the year they were married. We also had a keyboard with a 10 key, so we had enough numbers. Make sure you have all the letters or numbers you need, or you might have to find a second (or third) keyboard to destroy. I needed two "E's" so one word was with white keys and one with black keys. You can mix and match them too for a eclectic feel.

After all the letters and numbers were flat on the back we got to gluing. I purchased a 8X8 shadow box from Michael's to use. It was a black frame with a black background that had some stuffing to it. We took the frame apart and she placed the letters and numbers exactly where she wanted them. Take your time with this too, as there is no going back once the glue hits the fabric.

Once she liked the design, I grabbed the E-6000, because again that is what dance mom's use to glue everything. It is a super strong glue and held the keys perfectly. I went slowly, letter by letter, to make sure there wasn't too much glue, but enough to hold them when hanging on the wall. Once they were all glued on, I let it sit for an hour to "cure" then put the frame back together. I think it turned out super cute, and his parents really loved it.

This too is a project that you can change to fit your needs. You can spell anything out as long as you have enough keys. Heck, you could even just glue it to look like a keyboard on fabric. Use your imagination and think it out, I know you will come up with something great that you will want to share with the world too. When you do make one, let me know, I would love to post a picture of yours right here too!

By the way, sorry for the dark pictures, we were making this project pretty late at night and I needed to get it done and couldn't wait until daylight to take pictures. I know you DIY'ers understand...

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