What Do You Get When You Ask For Keys?

No, this is not a trick question or the start to a corny one line joke.  Let me back up the bus and explain.  I have been wanting to switch out shadow box on our floating shelves from our wedding picture to one filled with lovely retro keys.  Maybe locks too...I didn’t know how crazy I wanted to get.  So, I resorted to my best standby solution to any dilemma: ask the family.  They always seem to come up with something, and best of all its usually free. 

So I asked, and this is what my fabulous hubby and father-in-law came up with:

In the mix were some blue and clear glass insulators the hubby found in the back of his parent’s 30 acre lot, a railroad tie, and a key for machinery at Erie Mining Company.  I love that all the pieces have a rich history and make me feel connected to my roots up north. 

You see, northern Minnesota is a big mining area.  They don’t call it the “Iron Range” for nothing ya know!  My hubby’s dad worked at Erie Mining Company (which has since closed) and was generous enough to give me the key to an electrical box he had somehow come into possession of years ago.  And, with mining comes railroads, hence the railroad stake.  I mean we have to haul to iron ore out somehow!  The insulators have great color AND are a collectable entity, going at antique stores for around $5.00 for one insulator. 

So, after all the asking I came up with one key and some lovely other treasures - not too shabby! The best part about them is they were from my hubby’s back yard.  It is all these sentimental factors that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside every time I look at them!  I can’t wait to figure out how I will display them/where I will put them!