Create A Memorial with DIY Padlocks
As you prepare to come to the Remembrance Garden for the Unborn to add a padlock in honor of your child on the large cross ironwork, one way to open your heart in preparation is to choose a unique padlock to represent you and your family, or to embellish a lock in memory of the baby.
Creativity with your unborn’s padlock is one way to not only connect with your loss more tangibly, but also gives you an opportunity to spend time lingering on the child you never got to see in person.
Choosing the Right Lock
There have been a lot of different options in padlocks over the years and if you have time, choosing the one you feel most represents your loss is a great place to start:
Vintage Padlocks
Since we now have access to the internet, finding unique and interesting padlocks are just a click away and can be a great way to find the timeless look you are hoping for.
Ebay is a great resource to find many different options by searching “vintage padlock with key” or “antique lock with key”
Another perfect place to find a vintage padlock is in your own home. Choosing a lock you or your family has had for a while makes a great memory of where your baby came from and can bring about healing by adding the sense of familiarity to the memorial.
Stylized Padlocks
On the web, there are many places to find special padlocks which are already detailed and can be engraved just for you.
Etsy is a wonderful place to find different colored and shaped locks, some of which can also be custom engraved.
Amazon also has some interesting items by searching “shaped padlock” which can also be shipped faster with prime membership.
When buying online, make sure to fully check the description to see if the lock includes a key and is still functional (which is important) and double check where it’s shipping from so that it fits into your timeline for delivery.
If you are planning on focusing your efforts on embellishing your padlock or you don’t have a lot of time to wait for a lock to come in, some great places to find locks locally are Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and sometimes community lock shops.
Embellishing Techniques
Once you have chosen the lock, there are many ways to make it special. Some unique ideas are :
Adding Charms on the loop portion using beads, glass, metal or gemstones.
Painting or Drawing on the lock with permeant markers, metal paints, or paint pens.
Gluing Accents onto the metal like rhinestones, filigree, or vintage brooches.
Stamping letters or emblems directly onto the piece.
Upcycling by reusing small objects or pieces fabric you already have around your house or bought in preparation for the child you ended up not delivering.
There are many options at your local craft stores (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn, Walmart, etc.) if you use your imagination.
Remember these are all just suggestions to get your mind going. Anything you put your soul into for this memorial will be perfect…
so let your creativity flow and see what comes!
Below is an example of how I went about creating our family’s memorial for our child…
My Padlock Journey
As I personally prepared to add a padlock to the Garden for the Unborn’s window ironwork, I knew I wanted to make the lock special and create something my family and I would never forget.
Considering my family’s love for vintage things, I knew a great place to start was finding an old fashioned lock with an interesting key I could also wear as a pendant on a necklace in the future.
Since our last name begins with a “S”, I was immediately drawn to some antique locks made by a company called Slaymaker, which feature a large "S" already embedded on the front. I then found online this particular lock which spoke to my heart with it’s beautiful art deco lines and plain aged surface.
As I waited for it to come in, I let my mind wander on how I might go about representing our unborn child in this lock without forgetting the beauty of the piece itself.
When I’m upcycling or crafting, it has always been important to me to work with the object I’m given so that it can be transformed without being overtaken. With this project specifically, I wanted to embrace that though the padlock may not look special to an on-looker with its imperfections, it is ageless and distinctive in it’s own way without being perfect.
After talking to my husband for some ideas, by the time it finally arrived, I knew exactly what to do.
I loved the idea of adding shimmering gold on the exterior to reflect our child now being with the Lord in Heaven.
When I went to the craft store, I ended up finding a small bottle of Testors gold enamel paint in the models section which is made for metal coverage and I applied it easily with a small detailing brush.
Now that the padlock was done, all that was left was to make something special with the its key.
Because I love to make jewelry, I thought a necklace pendant would be perfect for this piece. Since the lock is two toned with gold and silver, I decided to match color combo and use gold jump rings to clip the key onto a stylish chain sourced from Michaels.
I then added a vintage gold chain tassel from a piece I found at a thrift store to the center and a small golden cross I had from another project to finish it off.
When I put the pieces together, I decided to make the necklace intentionally off center and going up one side to represent my baby being in a higher place.
Even though I found the key to be kind of an after thought to the importance of the padlock going on the metal ironwork, I now have found it to be a great source of healing. It is a tangible memory of laying my baby at the foot of the cross and something hopeful I can keep with me all day long.
