I found some plastic “melt in a metal frame” pellets in a clearance bin a year (or more) ago so naturally I had to buy them/try them. Of course I didn’t have any metal frames to melt them in but why let details get in the way of a craft bargain?

Last summer I ordered some thick metal wire for another key making project I want to try. I decided that wire could work to hold the plastic pellets in, and, for the most part, it did work. The pellets, however, didn’t always melt. I have no idea if it’s because some were meant to be decorative or if they were just past their melty life (which seems unlikely but they didn’t melt so…).

And the wire wasn’t as easy to precisely manipulate as I’d hoped. Plus I’m more of a quick and dirty maker rather then a precise maker so…I guess I get points for trying things. It took me awhile to realize that the pan I was using was uneven (no wonder the wire didn’t sit evenly). I switched to a less obviously wavy pan and that helped some. I also kept bumping the pan and knocking the little plastic pellets out of place.

In the end I made 6 keys and used up most of those pellets. I’m going to try some other keys with that wire but I’m in no rush to get back to melting plastic (and I don’t have very much of it left anyway).

Some good things that came out of this: I made 6 more keys, I used up some more supplies, I didn’t give up (although it was tempting). Some other things that came out of this: I misnumbered Key 2609 as Key 2603…and I didn’t realize I’d already made a Key 2603 until after I’d numbered everything. No point going back but I am noting here that Key 2609 is actually the first key I made with the melty plastic bits.

Here’s what happens when I bump the pan - the pellets spill out and have to be put back in place with tweezers…also note that even bumping the tin foil (yes it needed to be tighter to the pan) makes everything spill. And yes I bumped the foil when I was putting my first two keys in the oven and I had to redo them.