Doll-sized keys

** UPDATE: Thanks to everybody who entered our giveaway! The winner is # 53, Nancy B., who said "The prettiest key I have is one to the house where I grew up – just an old skeleton type key – but I love the memories it brings." What a cool key, and such a great way to unlock old memories :)  We'll be in touch with you via email soon, Nancy!

-----------------------

Hi everyone! I'm excited to share this week's tutorial with you -- a set of tiny, doll-sized keys! These are so much fun to make, and you can whip them out really fast....always a plus!

You can watch the video or follow the step by step tutorial below to see how to make them...

 

You'll need a sheet of heat-shrink plastic (like Shrinky Dinks), some old keys to trace, colored pencils, and a sharpie.

Pick a key to start with, then trace around it onto the rough side of the plastic.

Grab a metallic pencil, and get coloring! For some extra pizzazz, try outlining some "key" details with a fine-point permanent marker. :)

Using normal scissors, carefully cut out your key. Round off the sharp points (the shrinking process makes any pointy ends very sharp), and use a hole punch to make a hole for the keyring. 

Following the directions on the package, shrink your keys. Let them cool, then slip them onto a keyring.

Tie on a piece of cording for a lanyard, or add your favorite doll-sized keychain!

And that's it -- your very own set of doll sized keys!

**UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed, thanks to everybody who entered!**

NOW -- would you like to win this particular set of keys, instead of making your own? (Or perhaps in addition to making your own? Well, you're in luck, because we're giving them away! There are five different, awesome keys, and one of them is even Pixie Faire themed.... To enter, just leave a comment answering this question: "The prettiest key I've ever used was..."   (For example, I once had a key that had a tiny heart engraved on it. Gotta love the details!)  We will run the giveaway from now until Monday, June 30th, at which point we'll pick a winner randomly, and let them know via email that they've won!

 

Thanks for following along, and have fun!

For Pixie Faire,
Melinda


86 Comments

Shelley Hallman
Shelley Hallman

June 13, 2017

I think the most memorable key I ever used was the key to our quarters on the Air Force base, where we moved as soon as my husband returned from overseas.My had left for overseas shortly after we were married and we were expecting our first child. , I lived with my parents while I had my baby. When the year was over he can home and we moved away from my everything and everyone I ’d ever know except My husband and my son. To me that key was the symbol of Our start as a family. the key to our own front door, in our our home, with our own child , and all the “happiily ever after” we were sure was going to be.
Brenda Brown
Brenda Brown

September 17, 2015

prettiest key I have used is the one tht is red white and blue, with stars like the flag, it represents so many things, the constitution freedom of religion, speech the right to vote, and my home where my husband ws raised and our children,,,,, so many wonderful memories wrapped in the walls that the red white and blue key opens .

kwynn
kwynn

December 06, 2014

hey i was wondering if i can have permission to use one of your pics for your keys for dolls. I am new on blogger and need an example for one of my tutorials on how to make keys for dolls email me back if i can thanks! :)

Hayley
Hayley

August 15, 2014

That is really neat, my mom loves stinky dink. I am going to do this, my dolls will love them very much, thanks for sharing!!

robin sandwick
robin sandwick

July 01, 2014

Is my house key. After dog sitting for me while I was on vacation, a friend “blinged” my house key. Now I can easily distinguish it from the other keys on my key ring

Pam Hanna
Pam Hanna

June 30, 2014

I haven’t really ever used a pretty key…but I love what they stand for…I have five keys hanging on my wall…the “keys” to the Kingdom:)

Vicki
Vicki

June 30, 2014

I cannot think of a really pretty key that I have ever even seen…but what comes to mind is a skeleton key that my grandmother used to lock her front and back doors (and today we have to use a dead bolt, security cameras,etc.) and a key that is different from most keys: it opens a desk that MY grandfather “redid” (I am 70yo so you can imagine how old this desk is) The key is different than most keys. The end that unlocks is like a tiny little cylindrical pipe. That doesn’t describe it very well and you would probably have to see it…It’s just a regular heavy key end and then this little hollow finger that sticks out. It opens both the top of the desk as well as the drawer. It’s not very long, just the length of a regular key, I would assume, if not shorter..

Cathrine
Cathrine

June 29, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was cute little key that had realy tiny desighns on it.

Cathrine
Cathrine

June 29, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was cute little key that had realy tiny desighns on it.

Mary
Mary

June 28, 2014

The prettiest key I own are a set from my grandparents house. I used them during an art class where I placed them on a table for my class to draw then use their imagination to draw a ribbon threaded thru the keys to make an interesting drawing. They all turned out interesting. It was a very successful lesson.

Betty
Betty

June 28, 2014

My prettiest key was the one to the first house we bought.

Sandra
Sandra

June 28, 2014

Well, it wasn’t really a pretty key but my favroite key was a skeleton key that was used to unlock the inside doors in the victorian home I grew up in.

Gloria
Gloria

June 28, 2014

The prettiest key I have used is the key to my jewelry box. It is gold very ornate with a pink tassel from the top. Looks Victorian.

Gloria
Gloria

June 28, 2014

The prettiest key I have used is the key to my jewelry box. It is gold very ornate with a pink tassel from the top. Looks Victorian.

Gloria Johnson
Gloria Johnson

June 28, 2014

Where were you when I was a girl? The things you have for dolls are wonderful. The girls in my family love all the cute every day things I give them that you offer thanks and keep up the good work.

Dana
Dana

June 28, 2014

The prettiest key was a pink flowered key that was to my house. I loved how pretty it was.I had another key the color of my car to tell the keys apart.

Sharon Howell
Sharon Howell

June 27, 2014

I don’t know that I’ve ever had a pretty key. I have had keys to pretty boxes. I was thinking of using jewelry box keys or small suitcase keys for my doll to carry.

Norma
Norma

June 27, 2014

Just a small little skeleton-shaped key to lock/unlock my great-granddaughter’s sewing
box that I gave her with necessary items needed to start a fun adventure, sewing with
GG.

Sonya Conway
Sonya Conway

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was my tinkerbell key to my store

Melinda Cieslinski
Melinda Cieslinski

June 27, 2014

It seems like the ideas for an AG doll are only limited by your imagination!! What an adorable idea . . . and another great item to put in a purse ;) Thanks so much.

Lorraine
Lorraine

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used, was a skeleton key to get into the house when I got home from school back in the 1960’s. I also remember old brassy keys from my great grandmother. Brings back a lot of memories.

Renee
Renee

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key i ever used was the key to a new car.

Lucy
Lucy

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever had was by far my very plain Jane skate key. I know many younger people wouldn’t know what that is.If you couldn’t find that key you couldn’t skate, so when you found it ,believe me it was a beautiful sight.The key tutorial is really cute. I never would have thought of this myself. Thank you.

Darlene
Darlene

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key was my first motorcycle key I got last summer after learning how to drive a motorcycle, I am 60 years old.

Janet Smith
Janet Smith

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I have ever owned is the key to an antique wardrobe. It is a skeleton type key, and the top and key portion of it of it looks like fancy Celtic knots in metal.

Robyn
Robyn

June 27, 2014

My prettiest key was an ornate skeleton key for an antique secretary.

Sue
Sue

June 27, 2014

prettiest key I ever had was one with different butterflies all over it… really pretty, from the hardware store.

Fay
Fay

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key for me was the tiny one that opened the drawer in my grandmother’s Singer treadle sewing machine cabinet when I was a little girl. I have the Singer now, but, sadly, the key has been lost over the years.

Jenni
Jenni

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever had the pleasure of using was a vintage brass skeleton key with an ornate scrolled top based on the Golden Mean, all set on a beautiful post. Individual parts of it reminded me of a very fancy and classical script handwriting. It belonged to a doorknob in my in-laws home; a 200+ year old bed and breakfast. I thought to myself, now all keys should be this beautiful!

Bee
Bee

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I’ve used is shiny black with pink glitter heart to open a tiny blue cottage on the coast. What a lovely place!

Sharon Holt
Sharon Holt

June 27, 2014

Well, the prettiest key I ever used was a skeleton key. Our first house (we rented it) used these in both the front and back door. We had the neatest locks in the house, but I didn’t feel secure, so my husband changed the locks shortly after we moved in. The skeleton keys were so neat looking and actually very pretty. When we moved, we gave them to the owner so he would have them as a keepsake from his grandparents house. It’s still a rental today, waaaay out in the country!

Mary Stewart
Mary Stewart

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever owned is a red plastic elephant shaped key from the Detroit Zoo. I got that key when I was 8 years old back in 1959 ( I’m now 62 years young) . It was used to turn on the “talking” information boxes that were located in front of each animals cage. Years later after I married and had kids, I was able to use that same key with my children. I now live in Texas and will be visiting Michigan later this summer with my 8 year old granddaughter. I don’t know if the “talking” boxes are still there but she can wear the key around her neck on a ribbon like her mother and I did so many years ago.

Metrice
Metrice

June 27, 2014

The “prettiest” key I ever used and still do is to my red (my favorite color!) Honda Odyssey that my husband bought me for my birthday in 2005! Boy, do I love that key!

Mary Stewart
Mary Stewart

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever owned is a red plastic elephant shaped key from the Detroit Zoo. I got that key when I was 8 years old back in 1959 ( I’m now 62 years young) . It was used to turn on the “talking” information boxes that were located in front of each animals cage. Years later after I married and had kids, I was able to use that same key with my children. I now live in Texas and will be visiting Michigan later this summer with my 8 year old granddaughter. I don’t know if the “talking” boxes are still there but she can wear the key around her neck on a ribbon like her mother and I did so many years ago.

Rachel K.
Rachel K.

June 27, 2014

I’ve never used a pretty key (all ours are standard silver/gold/bronze-colored keys), but I’ve seen several neat keys online. I like skeleton keys, they are pretty cool. :)

Laura B.
Laura B.

June 27, 2014

The pretiest key I ever used was a skeleton key from my grandmas wardrobe.

Clarissa
Clarissa

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was the old skeleton key to get into our farmhouse when it was locked (rarely). To this day, I still love skeleton keys!

laura
laura

June 27, 2014

THE PRETTIEST KEY I’VE EVER USED WAS… one i painted with blue nail metallic polish to make it stand out from the others…

Jo
Jo

June 27, 2014

My house key, printed with the red, white and blue of the American flag, makes me happy and reminds me that I am safe in my home and my Country.

Ernestine
Ernestine

June 27, 2014

The old keys from my parents home and the ones from my husband’s grandmother’s old house are “pretty” to me not in looks but in the memories of loved ones they bring to mind.

Anne
Anne

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was a Victorian key. Its delicate intricate charms made up for the fact that it didn’t work.

Ernestine
Ernestine

June 27, 2014

The old keys from my parents home and the ones from my husband’s grandmother’s old house are “pretty” to me not in looks but in the memories of loved ones they bring to mind.

Keri
Keri

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was my pink princess key to my mother’s house.

Diane
Diane

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was an old skeleton key to my Grandma’s house. I carried that key for 30 years on my key ring long after the lock it opened was gone. However, for me, it unlocked and opened some of the best memories I have ever had.

Pauline
Pauline

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was a brass key with three teeth that opened my Grandma’s trunk.

Sandy Cerra
Sandy Cerra

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was the key to my first new car, a 1976 brown Datsun coupe. I miss Junebug.

Donna
Donna

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was a white key with pink breast cancer ribbons all over it. It made me thankful for my health every time I opened the doors to my home.

Carol
Carol

June 27, 2014

A lovely old key to an olden door with a glass door knob.

Judith Shear
Judith Shear

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I’ve ever used was the tiny key to an antique jewelry box. It was so ornate that it looked lovely on a chain. The key itself, besides it’s intricate scrollwork had one tiny red glass “jewel” in the center.

Shirley Hoy
Shirley Hoy

June 27, 2014

My neighbor gave me the key to her house while she was away. It was multicolored paisley.

gail
gail

June 27, 2014

A oversized brass key from hotel in New Orleans. The Orleans, was beautifu ,down to the room key. Could’nt bring that home! So settled for the key. Twenty two years later still on my key ring.

Shirley
Shirley

June 27, 2014

The cutest key I have ever used is a Hello Kitty :-)

Janet Panecki
Janet Panecki

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I ever owned was the front door key to the first house I ever owned. It was ornate and curvy, very 1920s -just like our house.

Sallie
Sallie

June 27, 2014

That is a wonderful idea. I put colored tabs on top of my keys to identify my keys. Love your idea.

Linda H Miller
Linda H Miller

June 27, 2014

Melinda – I’ve made lots of tiny charms and pendants with shrinky dinks, but never thought of keys! What a fantastic idea. My niece is visiting this weekend – this will be a fun project! Thanks for posting.

Linda H Miller
Linda H Miller

June 27, 2014

I found a small brass antique key in the corner of my mom’s cedar chest. It was not only pretty, but also mysterious!

Jaci
Jaci

June 27, 2014

It’s not really pretty but it’s “pretty” old. It is the key to my secretary desk. The desk belonged to my grandparents, then my brother had it in his room when we were growing up, then finally I had it in my room as the youngest of 4 children. Now I have it in my home. This antique desk, and its antique key, has been in our family now for 3 generations. The writing desk, the side bookcase, and the drawers all open with this key. Every time I use it, or just look at it, I am filled with so many wonderful memories. It is very comforting!!

Nancy B
Nancy B

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I have is one to the house where I grew up – just an old skeleton type key – but I love the memories it brings. It has a special place in my curio cabinet.

Janet
Janet

June 27, 2014

The prettiest key I have ever seen is one my daughter had that was made with a Winnie the Pooh and friends picture on it.

Lori Straley
Lori Straley

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I have ever owned was the key to my first car. It was old, but it was mine. I think I still have it somewhere. What a great idea and the tutorial is very good. This is the perfect accessory for our modern grown-up dolls. Pixie Faire thinks of the neatest things.

Paula
Paula

June 26, 2014

I have never had a ‘pretty’ key, but I have seen quite a few in the stores and often think it would be fun to have for a house key. Car keys nowadays are too bulky and complicated to have them be pretty.

Cindi
Cindi

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was a lavender one that had a butterfly on it.

Marian
Marian

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I ever has was one to my previous home which has covered in a floral design.

Kyla Lunderman
Kyla Lunderman

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was my current house key. It is Mickey Mouse and my husband had it made for me! He is so sweet…

Sheila
Sheila

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I ever saw was for my new sports car.

cherie
cherie

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I have ever used was a skeleton key for an archives where i work. The unusual shape and worn face with all its patina highlighted how many hands it had passed through as it guarded treasures from the outside world.

Chloe
Chloe

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I’ve ever used was a key that unlocked the door to our vacation home. It was not particularly pretty but the memories we made using that key to open the door were sure pretty memories. The key was gold and just was ordinary no special engravings or designs. Our key wasn’t different than anyone else’s but the memories we made after waiting a year anticipating on our vacation sure were special and- different. We used the keys after a day swimming with dolphins or a day of ice cream and seeking landmarks. The memories sure were pretty and to me the key was too.

cherie
cherie

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I have ever used was a skeleton key for an archives where i work. The unusual shape and worn face with all its patina highlighted how many hands it had passed through as it guarded treasures from the outside world.

Angie
Angie

June 26, 2014

My keys have never been anything special until my husband got me a set of house keys with the Cincinnati Bengals logo on them.

Paris
Paris

June 26, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was attached to a key chain with my name on it

Amanda
Amanda

June 25, 2014

These are sooooo cute! I love shrinky dinks! I once made mini ornaments copied from some wood ornaments my mom painted when we were little. They are still my favorite ornaments whenever I see them on her tree! Both the original and the mini ornaments were double sided. Lots of work, but so worth it. I don’t have pretty keys but I do own a house key painted with a Mickey Mouse scene on it-still uncut. I liked using an old skeleton key to lock our basement while growing up. They are cool.

Chennel
Chennel

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was a key to an old diary from my great grandma and it has the words love on it and it’s silver and the words are sparkly Ive had it since I was four I treasure it forever love it and love the keys you made I don’t have any of the matterial except for the keys love ya and your vids sorry it sooo love ima end it here bye

Zoe
Zoe

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was a little old fashioned key which I made into a necklace for my Caroline Abbott doll using a piece of thread. It’s silver and very old fashioned and perfect for Caroline.

Jessica
Jessica

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used is the little gold key from the jewelry box my grandfather made me!

Lesley from NE
Lesley from NE

June 25, 2014

My sister gave me a K-State key once to get cut and then use. I never did get it cut. It was very cool, but I never did get to use it. The prettiest key I have used, is the old wind-up key to my clock. It is old, and has a nice patina on it. =)

Brooke
Brooke

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key is a blue key with poke a dots on it

Brooke
Brooke

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key was this key that I had when I was little it had Minnie Mouse on it

Mystery
Mystery

June 25, 2014

My favorite key was a pink (my fave color) house key with a key fob that said “God Is Love” with a cross

Brooke
Brooke

June 25, 2014

I love all of your crafts and I really want this one

jasmine
jasmine

June 25, 2014

I need to add it was desginy friend Britney mom when.I was 11 which have which is so cute

jasmine
jasmine

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key use is a.fairy design it was cute it like tinkerbell I really like it hope I win

Melissa
Melissa

June 25, 2014

The best key I ever had was the one to the lock my then boyfriend put on the room of my door in my parent’s house. It meant that I could finally have a safe place. Later, after we got married, I knew I’d never need to have such locks again. He now holds the key to my heart. :-)

Elizabeth
Elizabeth

June 25, 2014

The pretteist key I ever used was one given to my by my daughter for her house. It was very colorful and she said that I would always be able to tell her house key from any other keys I had. I never asked her where she got it from, but I can always identify her key when I need it.

Kathi
Kathi

June 25, 2014

Was the one I used to open the door to my new (to me) house.

Sarah
Sarah

June 25, 2014

The prettiest key I ever used was brass and had curlicues on it, it just looked like you picked it up for a fantasy world, I used it to open a human sized version of Kit’s desk from inside my grandfather’s old house

N
N

June 25, 2014

None of my keys have ever been particularly pretty, but I once decorated my college dorm room key with tape so as to tell it apart from the others on my ring – I hope that counts.

Leave a comment