Our society is basically awash in unwanted keyboards. I have at least three spare keyboards lying around right now, not counting the three that I use on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure at least one of the spare keyboards is actually broken, I just can't be bothered to dispose of it. The situation is even worse at thrift stores and other places where old tech goes to die. You can buy keyboards by the ton in any thrift store in America.
Some intrepid and clever crafters have turned this oversupply to their advantage by repurposing keyboards and keys for crafts. Keyboards are easy enough, although you probably want to use wire cutters to snip off the cords. To get the keys off, you just need to gently lever them up with a screwdriver. (This is also a good way to clean your working keyboards. Just don't take off too many keys at once, or you will forget where they go. You think you will remember, but you won't.)
When crafting with old keyboards, the first thing you probably want to do is clean the keys thoroughly with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. This will help disinfect the keyboard, as well as getting all the years of built-up finger grease off the keys. (Gross.)
In the realm of whole keyboards, I found this fantastic project a mom did for her toddler. I would have LOVED a play keyboard when I was a kid. My suggestion would be to take off all the keys and paint them separately, so that you don't have to worry about accidentally sticking the keys with paint.
This blogger has created some wonderful framed art using keyboard keys to spell out a message. So simple and sweet! You can also use keys to create a necklace, fashion them into thumbtacks, or fridge magnets with the use of magnetic tape.
Image courtesy Flickr/Digitalnative
0 comments