Have I told you before that I collected keychains as a child? Only the cool kids did it, and I know this because I was the only person I knew who was doing it. Oh does that mean it’s not a popular thing? That’s not what my mom told me…
So yea, I have a soft spot for keychains, and a good thing about this DIY is that you can pump out a million in 5 minutes (rough estimate) and hand them out as little gifts for everyone you know (Christmas is tomorrow). Or, just make one or two for yourself because it’s cute.
Materials:
-clay in black, white, and granite
-rolling pin
–parchment paper
–clay cutters
–clay embossing kit (the circle and rectangle cutters came with this)
-toothpick
-assorted jump rings
-keyrings
-two pliers
Working on top of a cutting board covered with parchment paper, roll a piece of clay into a ball, then use a rolling pin to flatten it out.
Cut out the shape from the clay and remove all excess before removing the cutter.
Load the letters into the stamper from the clay embossing kit, then stamp it into the clay. Side note: clay embossing is addicting. It’s a sensation unlike any other.
Feels so good.
Use a toothpick to poke a hole near the top, moving in small circular motions to enlarge the hole. Cut the parchment around the clay and transfer to a baking sheet. Bake at 230F for 40 minutes (I did this for 10 clay pieces total) or until clay is hardened.
Bend a jump ring open and slide it through the hole in the clay. Before bending the jump ring shut, hook on a smaller jump ring. Slide this smaller jump ring onto a key ring.
Make 10 more, why not.
I like how the granite clay turned darker once baked, and while at first I thought the silver glitter specks were weird, they really give that interesting dimension. I’m thinking the granite circle is my favorite of the bunch. What say you? What color and shape would you make yours in?
omg! Loved it what a great share. I find myself always spending crazy amount of money on cute Key accessories but this is awesome just pinned a must try thanks doll :)
Ok, yea, key accessories are cute! Glad you agree :). Thanks, Mari!
What type of clay and clay cutters did you use??? They’re gorgeous <3
Linked in the blog post under “Materials”
I totally made your coasters in a previous post and I’m so glad I did. Because I have so much excess clay to do fun stuff like this with! Also my coasters are adorable. (I’ll be sure you send you photos soon.) I have never played with clay so these have all been so fun. Thank you <3
Aww yay! That kind of explains why I might come out with a bunch of DIYs in a similar category- I like to use up excess materials, too! Thank you, Anna. <3
You make it look like it’s so simple : I want to try this now ! Thanks for this :)
It IS simple! Hope you give it a try!
I saw this post first thing this morning and fell in love! It’s simple, adorable and useful! I think I’m going to make these for friends & family as a part of their holiday gifts.
Thanks for sharing. I’m obsessed. (possibly one of my favorite DIYs to date)
Such a nice compliment, Eunice, thank you. I think it’s one of my favs too!
Love these Amy! So simple and beautiful! Pinning this gem!
Thanks so much, Marianela <3
This is such a lovely idea! So cute! I love the clay you used!
Thank you! Gotta think of something else to do with that clay bc I love it, too :)
J’adore! I’m obsessed with the granite one. These would make great personalized gifts for everyone I know this coming holiday season.
Yay! Hope they love em :) Thanks, Enid.
oh my goodness amy – love these! perfect gift idea for the holidays!
Thank you Sara!!
Amy the idea is adorable, this will be the first thing i try after i get home tonight <3 :)
Aww yay that makes me so happy, Caitlin! Thank you!
Love this idea… how cute?! Will def have to give this a try :) And all my fave colors hehe
http://www.justjito.com
We have the same favorite colors ;) Thanks, Ji Yeon!
Wonderful tutorial, thank you. Will definitely try this. I am kinda intimidated by clay, but this is so darn cute. My daughter and her boyfriend need new keychains, as they moved in together last week. I decided to buy a turbo key chain from this store for him. He usually doesn’t like keychains since they are bulky, but this one was definitely worth it. As for my daughter, I remembered that I recently saw a basic tutorial on the web for making clay necklaces. Your article is all it took to trigger my memory and get the juices flowing.
So so happy to hear you found inspiration with this DIY. Thanks, Florence, and happy keychain making :)
I saw this on Pinterest and fell in love. I had a go myself today using white granite effect clay but I think I prefer the type you used.
Thank you for sharing this idea! So simple and easy to do. I can’t wait to give the keyrings to my friends.
Lovely, thank you so much for coming by, Jack!
darling! love this idea!
What kind of oven do you use? Can you use a regular oven, or a toaster oven?
Hi Mary! Just a regular oven. I have no idea if this would work in a toaster over. My guess is not.
Hi! I love these… But am not especially crafty and work is busy leading to the holidays. Any chance you would take a commission for a few of these? Email me if so and we can talk specifics!
Hi Alexandra! I’m so flattered and grateful you love my work enough to inquire about a commission. Unfortunately, I currently am not offering that service, though I hope to eventually be able to do that. Thanks still for reaching out so that I can gauge the amount of interest for something like this in the future!
Thanks for the inspiration for our little Christmas DIY-gifts that we can do together with kids! Greetings from Finland as well :)
Hi Mari! Love hearing you’ll be doing this with the kids :) I hope I get a chance to visit Finland- it’s high on my list!
I JUST love them! Could you Also please share where to buy This Clay or with what name should I look for it?
Please pleAse
Hi Monica! I got the clay at Michaels. The brand is Fimo.
What sizes of jump rings did you use?
I got an assortment pack of all different sizes. The two I used were roughly 5mm and 9mm in diameter.
Hi Amy! I’m hoping to make keychains just like these for my whole family for Christmas because I think it’s something they will love and they’ll have something they can actually use! What kind of pliers did you use?
Wonderful, Kaylee! They will love these. I used one bent needle nose pliers and one regular pliers.
Amy, do you sell these?!
I’m sorry for asking this probably not so smart question but where do you buy the clay? Especially the black and granite.. Im new at this and I need some help.. The key rings are soooooo beautiful by the way!!! ❤️
Hi Manon! I got all the clay at Michaels and specifically used the FIMO brand. Thanks for your question, and good luck with making them!
Oh my, I am so glad I saw your project today. I love them! One question though, can you use any color clay, and can you paint the clay after they are baked?
Hi there! So at school, we have a annual project where we have to make soemthing and sell it to the parents. I really love the idea of these keychains! I was just wondering how thick they were, what the diameter was of the circle ones and how much clay you had to buy to make 11? And like I know for each colour you made around 3-4 (I think) did you have any left over clay? What was your biggest challenge as well? I would really appreciate your feedback! please respond ☺️
Hi Anneka! The circles are about 1.5″ in diameter. I got one square of clay for each color and had maybe 1/3 of each square leftover. My memory is a bit blurry on that so take it as a rough estimate! Biggest challenge was whenever the clay would stick to the cutter. It didn’t happen every time, but when it did I’d have to use my fingers to push the clay out and it would get warped. It might be a good idea to oil the cutter so that this doesn’t happen.
Good luck!
Thanks for replying! I was just wondering whether you coated the keyrings with any type of varnish as well? and if you didn’t, whether you think they would need to be coated?
No coating, and I don’t think it’s necessary! Mine has held up find without it.
This information is helpful! How thick or thin did you roll them out to be?
Hi, can you send me more info about clay?. I don´t know were can I found this in Argentina!. Very Beautiful work.
Hi Paula, not exactly sure what information you need but I linked to the clay I used in the post! See it here.
what type of clay did you use? it is so cool .love it
Hi Aizen! I linked to the clays in the post!
Any brand of polymer clay will do and yes, you can certainly bake it in a toaster oven. Follow the manufacturer’s directions as baking temperature and length of time vary between brands.
Just a general comment, Wow this is my first time visiting your site and have to say by far my fav out of all the diy sites I’ve visited your instructions are so easy to follow you have such great ideas thank you for sharing them your brilliant Amy :) can’t wait to try some of these
beautiful keychains! how much did it cost you to make each key chain?
These are so beautiful! Did you use regular clay or should i look for a specific kind of clay? I’m not from the US so i might have to look a little harder for the right type but i hope you can help me out with more info :)
Hi Dani! It’s polymer clay.
HI, Any idea how many keychains (ballpark) can be made with a piece of clay? I want to make 200 for an event…
WHY DID MY CLAY MELT :( Used ordinary modeling clay and it was a complete disaster!!!
Hi Nicole, modeling clay is not supposed to be baked. Polymer clay was used for this DIY. I linked in the post the ones I used.
I am wanting to make a bunch of these……like 250, for a goodie bag at a conference. How much clay would I need to purchase?
Can’t wait to make them, so gorgeous!
Hi! I’ve tried to make this using white clay, I washed my hands before I rolled it into a ball but it got dust inside it and after it was baked I could see the little pieces of dust stuck into it :( what did you do to prevent this?
Hi Burcu! I took the same precautions and while I rolled it if I could see any specks of dust I picked them out with a toothpick. Even still, it’s hard to prevent any dust at all from sticking to the clay but this works well for anything large and noticeable.
Hi there! I see it’s been a while since people have commented on this thread but I love it!
How many 2oz packages of clay do I need to order to make 15 key chains? In other words, how much clay does each keychain require? Thanks!
Hi Molly! Because this was so long ago I can’t remember exactly how much clay I used in total. I want to say each 2 oz package made 5… but that would be a very rough estimate. The way I shop for craft supplies is that I get beyond enough and then return what I don’t use ;)
Where did you get the stamp set? And what is it called?
Hi Letha, I got it at Michaels. Unsure the specific name of it, but it was in the clay section.
Can you paint the clay?? once baked and cooled of course.
Also what about using metal cookie cutter for different shapes? Would they be too big an gauky? Or would it quite possibly work well.
You can definitely paint the clay after it’s baked and cooled and metal cookie cutters would work the same!
These are so cute! I will definitely be making these for my friends and family. I was just wondering where you purchased the jump rings and key rings. I love the gold and silver colours!
Thanks Hayley! I got everything from Michaels. Hope your friends and family enjoy these!
Hi! Love this and got all the supplies to try tonight but the clay is so hard I can hardly make a ball and seems to crack some when rolled. Do you think the clay is old or did I do something wrong? I followed your link to purchase it but will go to Michaels tomorrow to compare what I have with what is available there.
Hi Kathryn, sounds like the clay might be old/dried out. It’s usually a challenge to first roll out clay but once work a little it should soften, not crack. Hope you have better luck at Michaels!
How thick did you roll the clay out? I think I rolled mine too thick because they’re cracking when I put the jump ring in. Thanks!
I had to use larger jump rings and drill the hole. I think mine were to thick and the tooth pick made to small of a hole
How thick are they?
I must have made mine to thick. They didn’t harden good. And I had to use like a 14mm jumper. Giving them for Christmas presents hopefully they hold up.
Hello! I absolutely love these and I’m planning to make them as gifts for friends. Quick question – do you remember which jump rings you used? I’m struggling to find a normal gold color on Amazon, also a gold that would match the keyring. Did you buy them together? Thanks soooo much for this idea! They’re lovely!
Hi Jessica! I don’t remember the exact ones, but I got them from Michaels and I would guess the brand is Bead Landing though I’m not fully sure about that.
What size cutters did you use please? As id love to make these!
Hi Frankie, I linked the cutters in the post under “materials”