Guest Post by Beth Hovanec
The Armchair Treasure Hunt of the ‘Lamp with Four Keys’
Laura McKey has created a very unique armchair treasure hunt. The first of its kind! It is called “Lamp with Four Keys”. Instead of reading a book and searching for clues, or staring at a computer and cracking codes, you can interact with a three-dimensional object in front of you.
Laura has designed a puzzle into a hand-crafted macramé lamp. Of course, you could hang it in any room and simply enjoy it as a lamp, without ever thinking about puzzles. It works fine as décor only, giving any room a warm exotic touch. But of course, you can also try to solve the mysteries it contains.
Laura lives in South Texas and has been running a very successful Etsy store called Chicken Jungle, where she designs and creates colorful fabric chicken doorstops along with beaded macramé plant hangers and lanterns. She has decided to combine work and fun into one of her hobbies, armchair treasure hunting.
The macramé lamp is made from polished hemp cord, and is tied into a variety of beautiful patterns and knots. Crystal beads are added to give it small bursts of color. The lamp is quite mesmerizing when it is glowing with light. And it is quite mysterious too!
You must be wondering how will this work as an armchair treasure hunt. Laura will be taking pre-orders for the lamp through April 30th, or until 25 lamps are sold. She has only a limited quantity, as these are all hand-made. During the first week of May, Laura will mail out the lanterns. Once all the lanterns have been confirmed as received, a simple pre-puzzle will be released by Laura to begin the hunt. The puzzle cannot be solved without the pre-puzzle, so no one will get a head start. The first person to solve the pre-puzzle will be awarded an old-fashioned lamp key on a macramé pendant, hand-made by Laura! Then the real hunt begins!
To unlock the final puzzle, you must find four hidden keys. The winner of the final puzzle will be awarded a $1000 cash prize. And along the way, there is a $100 prize to the first finder of each of the four keys. The total amount of prizes is $1400! Laura will release monthly clues until all puzzles are solved.
Even if you don’t win a prize, you still have a fabulous hand-made lamp, that is sure to get a lot of compliments, and you will have an interesting story to go along with it.
The price of the lamp is $35 plus $11 shipping. It will be mailed by USPS Priority Mail, so it should take only 2 or 3 days for you to get it once it’s mailed. Tracking and insurance are included.
Payments are being accepted by:
Chicken Jungle: VIA PAYPAL.
Follow Laura on Facebook: Chicken Jungle
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Learn more about Laura McKey
(written by Laura McKey)
When I was a kid in the 1970’s, my father showed me how to do macrame. He made nice plant hangers and belts in his spare time, and gave them away to friends and family. I still have some of them. He said these knots are simply smaller versions of the old sailor’s knots he tied aboard ships in World War II.
He had to learn them as part of his Navy Bosun’s Mate training. They were used very often on the ship to haul loads, etc. There was an old sailor’s term that Daddy used for the smaller decorative macrame: “McNamara’s lace”. I’ve read that this name came from a 19th century sailor who filled his hours of free time on the ship with fancy knotwork.
There are only a few simple basic knots involved….what makes them interesting are the endless number of ways they can be combined. So now I am basically tying over and over again these centuries-old knots that these sailors used.
For a long time my specialty was sewing and quilting. Over the years I designed and made miniature quilts, patchwork purses, and fabric chicken doorstops. In 2013 I started my Etsy shop called “Chicken Jungle”. In between sewing projects, I designed and made beaded macrame plant hangers and lanterns, and even a one-of-a-kind macrame terrarium. One of my favorite projects was a plant hanger I did a few years ago with okra fiber I processed from okra stalks from my garden. I was surprised that the cord turned out to look and feel the same as hemp….a bit lighter in color.
I made beads from the woody hollow dried okra stalks, cut in slices. They looked and felt like fancy expensive bamboo beads. I also made a plant hanger out of yucca fiber. My homemade cordage may not have looked perfect, but it was very strong. And it was also the most time-consuming thing I have ever tried!
Right now I’m doing macrame more than anything else. For one thing, it is so relaxing! If you are looking for a relaxing hobby, you should, try macrame. Although it involves tying knot after knot after knot, there is something really free and airy about the entire process from start to finish. You can take it with you almost anywhere you go. I like to stand up and move around while I do it, with the macrame project at eye level.
I used to get tired sitting in one place, bent over a sewing project for a long time. Macrame is so much easier on the eyes, and It’s also good exercise for both arms. And when I ’m doing macrame, I’m continuing a very old tradition (thanks to my father) and I feel connected to the ancient sailors. I almost feel like I’m not in a room but on a boat, out on the ocean somewhere. There are many other things I love to do with my spare time – too many! I love anything that involves travel, adventure and discovery. As we all know, armchair treasure hunting is a great way to combine those things, and it’s even more fun to do it with other people.
The first armchair treasure hunt I did was in the 1970’s around the same time my father was teaching me macrame. It was a local treasure hunt here in South Texas, sponsored by the radio station and newspaper. The clues were in a long poem similar to “The Secret” (although this happened long before “Secret” was published). The hunt lasted for a month or so, and every week the radio announcer would recite a new stanza of the poem. If I remember right, the clues led to a $100 bill stashed in the hiding place.
I made my father drive countless miles every week to find it. We followed the clues to very out-of-the-way places, like an abandoned playground with rusty carousel horses… I was crushed when someone else found it far from me, but I was glad that the finder was someone who really needed some money to catch up paying his bills.
Then a few years later when I lived in Austin, I found “Masquerade” by Kit Williams at a bookstore ,took it to my apartment and oohed and aaahed over it for months. After that, I found the interactive book called “Maze” by Christopher Manson….all those rooms and staircases. It completely floored me but I loved it. I came across “Treasure’s Trove” by Michael Stadther one day in late 2005 in the bookstore where I worked. I took it from the stocking cart and put it on the New Release display wall in the children’s book section, along with all the other new releases that week, and I thought, “Hmmm, this looks interesting.”
I was busy with other things and couldn’t buy it for awhile, but every time I walked by it, it looked so inviting. I finally gave in and bought a copy. That day I took the book with me to lunch at a sandwich shop, and before I finished my sandwich I was a Trover. At home I immediately joined an online discussion group, and for years we were all immersed in the world of Ana, Zac, their dog Pook and the twelve forest creatures. To us, it seemed as if this world had existed for centuries! Some of those Trovers are still my friends today.
Last year I enjoyed working on “The Famous Grandson” hunt from “The Art of Hidden Messages”. I got off on the wrong track at first with the wrong grandson, but I did find all the Rush connections! I had fun with that.
Last spring I joined in the British Armchair Treasure Hunt Club’s spring event, “Doh! 4 – Harlequin Army”. It was interesting to work on that one as part of a team. I was so relieved when I finally figured out one of the solutions at 3 a.m. and scored that one for my team. I was amazed how clever and intricate the puzzles were in that hunt, and awed at the brainpower of the other players. In the end, our team tied for 1st place. Since then I have been busy making the lamps for my hunt, “Lamp With Four Keys”. My biggest motivation is the creative fulfillment I get. And the fun! I look forward to joining with you all in future hunts.
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