Make a darling DIY Heart Photo Keychain featuring your favorite photo. We’ll show you how to resin the photo to make a picture pendant and how to add beads to the keychain!
Hi Kenarry readers! It’s Jennifer and Kitty (the O’Neil Sisters, from RunningWithSisters.com), and we have a darling DIY keychain project for you: A DIY Heart Photo Keychain. This is a pretty way to customize a keychain and carry a special face with you everywhere you go. The hardest part is picking which photo to use!
How to Make The DIY Keychain
We have two videos to show you how to make this DIY keychain. We’ll show you how to cut your photo to fit in the heart pendant blank, how to laminate it (the easy way!), and how to cover it in UV resin to make it into a photo pendant. The resin sets up in 15 minutes. You won’t believe how magical it is! Then we’ll show you how to turn the photo pendant into a photo keychain with crystal bead dangles. The beads really dress up the key ring so it’s perfect to clip to your purse as a little purse jewelry!
What you need to make the Photo Pendant for the DIY Keychain:
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- Heart bezel pendant blank, silver, 25mm
- Lisa Pavelka Magic-Glos UV Resin
- Printed photo
- Clear packing tape
- Glue stick
- Scissors
- Toothpick
Instructions:
1. Pick Out A Photo
Start by picking out a photo. Look for a picture that has a very clear distinction between the face and the background. Pick one that is light and bright. Resize it to fit in your bezel if needed, then print it out. We like to go to Fedex Kinkos to print out our photos––it only costs about a dollar to print a page, and the quality is so much better than most home printers!
2. Cut Out The Picture & Laminate
Cut out your photo to fit the bezel. Then laminate the photo with clear packing tape, placing a piece on the back and then one on the front of the photo. Rub the surface of the picture and around the edges to seal the photo in and remove any bubbles. Cut out the laminated photo leaving a little sealed edge all the way around it.
3. Glue Photo Into Pendant Blank
Rub the back of the photo with a glue stick, then press it into the pendant blank. Give it a few minutes to dry.
4. Resin The Pendant
Next you are ready to resin the surface. Cover the photo in the pendant blank with Magic-Glos resin squeezing out enough to cover the whole photo up to the edges of the pendant blank. If you see any bubbles, pop them with a toothpick. Then take your photo pendant outside and let it cure on a level surface for 15 minutes in direct sun. It’s the direct sunlight that makes the resin cure.
To test the resin to see if it has cured, poke it gently near the edge. (That way if it’s not cured, you won’t mar the surface.) Move the pendant to more direct sunlight for a little longer if needed.
Next we’ll assemble the keychain and add bead dangles.
What you need to make the DIY Keychain:
- Lobster clasp key ring
- 3 Flat-head headpins, silver
- Silver chain with large open links, (link size 7mmx10mm)
- 3 Faceted crystal rondelle beads, (pink, crystal, lime) 5mmx8mm
- 2 Large Thai beads, silver, 4mmx6mm
- 5 Daisy spacers, silver, 2mmx5mm
- 5 Round spacer beads, silver, 3mm
- Round-nose pliers
- Wire cutters
Instructions:
1. Cut The Chain
Cut a piece of chain 4 links long. To do this, cut apart the fifth link using the wire cutters.
2. Make A Bead Dangle
Make a bead dangle by feeding a round silver bead, a daisy spacer, a Thai silver bead, another daisy spacer, and a round silver bead onto a head pin.
Grasp the headpin wire above the last bead with the round-nose pliers. Pull the tail of the wire toward you to make a 90-degree bend. Next, move the pliers to the top of the bend and wrap the wire around the top jaw away from you making a partial loop. Reposition the bottom jaw of the pliers into the loop and finish pulling the tail around to form a complete loop.
Slide the loop onto the second link in the chain. Grasp across the loop with the round-nose pliers and pull the tail around the neck below the loop two times making two wraps. Trim the end of the wire. (This is easy to follow in the video!)
3. Make Two More Bead Dangles
Repeat the steps above to make two more bead dangles, attaching them to the other links in the chain. We made one with a round silver bead, a daisy spacer, a pink faceted crystal, and a silver bead. And the third bead dangle we made has a round bead, a daisy spacer, a lime faceted crystal, a Thai silver bead, a clear faceted crystal, and a daisy spacer. Remember to attach each dangle to a link in the chain before you close and wrap the loop.
4. Assemble The Keychain
Slide the top link of the chain onto the split ring of the keychain. Then slide the picture pendant onto the keychain.
Isn’t this a pretty project? We think this is a great personalized gift for someone you love. Remember if you have any questions about this project, we’re here to help. Leave us a comment. We love hearing from you!
Happy Crafting,
Jennifer & Kitty
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Jennifer and Kitty O’Neil are sisters and authors of several books including Steampunk Chic: Vintage Flair From Recycled Finds. Their crafting, decorating, and jewelry designs have appeared in Woman’s World, Craft Ideas, and Create and Decorate magazines and on the web sites of Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, and HGTV. Their detailed craft videos can be found on Curious.com and on their YouTube channel, which has over 2.2 million views. The O’Neil Sisters share their enthusiasm and their fresh approach to crafting and decorating on their blog, RunningWithSisters.com.
Follow the O’Neil Sisters on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
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