Key holder with moving characters

With this box you will never search for your keys again. Because they are with the two dancing sheeps at the Love-Box.

They will come out of the box as soon as you are at home and put your key on the magnetic hook.

Printing the parts

All parts of the box can be printed without support. Just place them with the correct side on the printing bed.

• Schluessel_1
  This is the back of the box.

• Schluessel_3
  Separator between the two sliding frames with the characters

• Schluessel_4
  Front cover of the box. Letters and Hippie-Heart have different heights. In the slicer you have to set a filament-change just before the letters. Then set a second filament change before the heart.
  If available use the “ironing”-option for all top layers.

• Schluessel_2a
  This is the frame of the female sheep. Print it in white color - you need to paint it with acryl color after printing it.

• Schluessel_2b
  The male sheep. The frame needs to be printed in white, too.

• Schluessel_2
  If you don't like the two sheeps you can use this frame and add your own characters.

• Schluessel_5
  I used two small magnets to attach the keys. This is a small sleeve for it. Also the thread is fixed with it.
  As alternative solution you can use something different, e. g. a small hook.

• Schluessel_6
  To attach the box to the wall you can use this part. Print it two times. Attention: One needs to be mirrored in the slicer!

• Schluessel_8
  This is a new version of the hook without magnet. Print it lying on the side to enhance stability.

Painting

The painting of the characters is the most challenging part. Use acrylic paint for it. Maybe you can ask your partner to do this ;-)

Be sure to paint on the front side, not on the back! Have a look on the foot of the frame: The longer side is the front.

We got inspired by the Jolly Friends collection of Nici.

Assembling

Additional to the printed parts you need a thread to connect the hook with the frames. Make sure you have one in the color of your frame.

Step 1 - Back and first frame

First place the back part on the desk. Put the first frame (female sheep) on it and check if it can slide up and down.

There is a small hole on the bottom of the frame. Run the thread through this small hole and fix it. You can either do this by a big knot or you can use a (very) small deco pearl.

Then cut the thread. Two times longer than the height of the box should be enough for the moment.

Step 2 - Separator

Now add the separator layer (Schluessel_3). It has holes on the top. Run the thread through the two, which go to the left side. See the photos for details.

When the thread is in place fix the separator by putting the big holes over the bolt. Check again, if the sliding mechanism works when pulling the thread.

Step 3 - Second frame

Next layer is the second sheep. Repeat with it the first and the second steps:

First you have to attach the thread at the bottom of the frame.

Then go with the thread through the right two holes of the separator. Take care that the thread is underneath the top bar of the frame.

Again, check that the sliding mechanism works for both frames.

Step 4 - Attaching the front cover

This step is easy: The front cover has two holes. These fit into the bolts on top of the box. Your work should now look like this.

If you want to test the box you can use rubber bands to fix all parts temporarily. Attach one leftmost, the other rightmost.

Step 5 - Glue

If the mechanism works you can glue the frame together. On the left and right side you can add some glue between the back and the separator. Also the separator and the front cover can be glued together.

Take care: If the glue leaks to the frames, the mechanism won't work!

Step 6 - Attach hooks

I have used small magnets to hold the keys and designed casings for them. Of course you need to adapt these to your magnets.

Alternatively you can attach simple hooks, e. g. made of a paperclip, to hold the keys.

The thread has to be long enough to let the frame fully into the box.

Step 9 - Attach the box to the wall

To fix the box at the wall you can use “Schluessel_6”. As mentioned above one of the two prints needs to be mirrored.

Use screw anchors and screws to fix both holders at the wall. Afterwards you can simply let the box fall into the holders.

That's it! Enjoy your dancing sheep coming out of the Love-Box everytime you come home.