How to Make Clay Monogrammed Keychains
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I have a good amount of clay and some key rings so I thought I could make some keychains of my initials. My favorite key chain broke recently and I lost it so my keys have been looking a little bare. I also have a spare key for when people are cat sitting or I get locked out and right now it doesn’t have anything attached to it. I think this makes it easier to lose so this DIY solves this problem perfectly!
The shelter-in-place order has been in effect for awhile now here in Seattle so my DIY’s have become limited to supplies I already own. I have these two really great cookie cutter sets that I had already bought specifically for clay projects. One is a set of circles at various sizes and the other set contains the alphabet and numbers 0-9.
I decided to layer the circles to create a fun cutout effect and use a variety of colors. While you can paint your clay, I like the matte natural and I have a multipack of Sculpey clay that needs to get used.
You need a thick enough border between the key hole and the edge to keep the clay from cracking but because of this you can’t loop your key ring directly to the clay. To get around this, I used some gold wire I already had to create my own key ring to loop the two clay pieces together and give the actual key ring something to attach to.
I think they turned out great and I did it all while on a Google Hangout with 3 of my best friends. It has been important to get face time with my loved ones since we are all stuck inside. I will admit that I burned some of the clay the first time because I got so caught up in conversation and I didn’t set an alarm. Luckily it was really easy to repeat.
Supplies
Clay: White | Multicolored
Cookie Cutters: Circle | Letter
Foil Pan
Rolling Pin - this one has set thicknesses!
Roll Clay
Roll the clay in your hands and knead it to get it soft. Roll it out using a rolling pin to 1/4” thickness.
Cut Clay
Use a cookie cutter (or an exacto knife traced around a cup) to cut out a shape from the clay. Mine were 2” in diameter. They need to be large enough that the letter and key hole each have enough room on either side. If it is too thin it could crack.
Cut Letter
Use your letter cookie cutter or an exacto knife to cut your letter out. You need 1 complete circle to serve as the backing for every 1 letter.
Punch Hole
Punch out a hole for the key ring on both your solid circle and the letter. I used the back of a paintbrush.
Bake Clay
Preheat your oven to 275°. Place your clay in the foil pan and then place another foil pan upside down on top of it to create a lid. This keeps your clay from burning. Bake for 10 minutes.
Make Split Ring
Cut approximately 2 inches of your wire. Slowly wrap it in a circle through the two pieces. Clamp the pliers down as you turn it. When you have circled twice, clip the excess wire off.
Attach Ring
Thread the split key ring through your wire. I used the pliers to hold it open and slide it through.
My keys now have cute accessories and I even attached one to my purse for some fun flair.
I have some other random clay scraps leftover and have already gotten some requests from people to make them one. They are so easy it is a nice little DIY to keep my mind busy while I am trapped inside and don’t mind making more at all.
If you have any suggestions for other clay projects let me know, I have all the time right now and crafting is keeping me sane. Hopefully this inspires you. Let me know how your clay keychain turns out!
