DIY Faux Leather Keychains with a Cricut

Fitting work into our “stay at home” life has certainly been a challenge these last few months, so more often than I like, I am usually working right up against tight deadlines. An unfortunate consequence of this is that I rarely have time to just sit and craft, be creative and let ideas flow. Recently however, I decided to ignore put aside some looming deadlines to instead work on a project I’ve had in mind for months (seriously…MONTHS)! In no time, I found myself waaaay down the rabbit hole of making DIY faux leather keychains with a Cricut. Not only do these keychains look ah-mazing, but they couldn’t be any easier (most come together in mere minutes!). I have 7 different styles to share with you today, and after you see how these come together, I just know you’ll be running to make a whole collection for yourself, friends and family too!

Making faux leather keychains with a Cricut isn’t really a new concept in the DIY world. However, I took the project up a notch by starting with some basic label shapes and adding a bunch of really chic iron-on details to make them unique and personalized. The result is a collection of keychain styles that look professionally made and have infinite possibilities!

I’m not kidding when I said I fell deep down the rabbit hole making these keychains with a Cricut. They come together so fast, I had dozens made in just an hour or so! I mean…look at all that labeled goodness 😍

Supplies Needed

These DIY Faux Leather Keychains with a Cricut require just a few budget-friendly supplies, as well as some basic craft tools! Here’s what you need!

MATERIALS

• Cricut Faux Pebble Leather – Okay, you guys. I LOVE this stuff and have a bunch of projects coming up using it (so buy it now so you can craft along later!) I suggest buying a variety pack to get different colors, but it’s available on the roll too.
  • Sampler Pack on Cricut.com
  • By the roll.
  • By the roll on Amazon (looks like the sampler pack on Amazon is unavailable but hopefully will be in stock in the near future!)
• Rivets
• Keychain Hardware:
  • Round Shape with Swivel Clasps – better for slender keychain designs
  • D-Ring Shape – better for wider keychain designs
• Iron-On Vinyl (optional) – for creating decorative details and labels (refer to this post for specific directions) I really love the foil versions for super chic-looking metallic details.

TOOLS

• Cricut Machine (you can use either an Explore, Maker, or Joy for this project) or another e-cutter
• Hot Glue Gun
• EasyPress Mini + EasyPress Mat (optional) – the small footprint of this EasyPress is ideal for adding tiny details.
• Keychain Cut File in Cricut Design Space – I have everything designed and ready for you to get cutting right away!

Rivets | Swivel Clasps | Round Keychain Hardware | D-Ring Keychain Hardware | Foil Iron-on | Faux Pebble Leather

Cut with Cricut

Cutting the keychain shapes from the faux pebble leather is super easy. You can cut this product on either a Cricut Explore or Maker, and you don’t need any special blades or mats (both the Standard Grip Mat and Fine-Point Blade are sufficient). Just make sure you select “Faux Leather (Paper Thin)” from the Custom Materials menu, and load the leather wrong-side (soft side) up…

Cut as many shapes, designs and colors as you wish!

Design & Assembly

Cricut users can access my exact keychain designs HERE. I came up with all sorts of fun designs…7 different ones in fact! Once you have picked the keychain design(s) you want to make, send them to your machine to be cut. Although it’s likely pretty obvious how they come together, let me show you each one in a bit more detail!

1. Layered Pennant Keychain

This layered pennant design is simple and classic. You can change up the width and colors to make all sorts of different versions!

1. Layer the shorter pennant over the longer pennant, lining up the side edges and ensuring the shorter one is in the middle of the longer one.
2. If desired, use a Hot Glue Gun to secure the top pennant to the bottom pennant. (This is optional, I didn’t do this and instead just used the rivet to hold all the layers together).
3. Loop the stacked pennants through keychain hardware and match up the bottoms and sides. The wider versions fit better in the D-ring shape (below top, left) while the skinnier pennants work better in a round keychain (below top, right).
4. Place a coordinating rivet through all four layers, just below the keychain hardware. The rivet set will come with instructions (don’t worry, it’s super easy!)

2. Peek-a-Boo Heart Keychain

This next keychain features a simple heart cutout, under which you can layer any color iron-on vinyl to color the heart detail.

1. For each keychain, you’ll need a single keychain cutout, plus a small iron-on insert and the D-ring hardware (below, top).
2. Start by attaching the iron-on to the non-heart underside of the keychain (below middle, left).
3. Next, slide the entire keychain through the D-ring hardware (below middle, right).
4. Finish by folding the keychain in half over the hardware, aligning the bottom and side edges, and glueing in place with a Hot Glue Gun (bottom).

3. Chevron Keychain

The subtle gold details on this simple keychain design make it one of my favorites!

1. Cut the keychain design from the faux leather and the chevron design from iron-on (below top, left).
2. Iron the chevron detail on to both ends of the keychain, lining up the pattern to match the cutout in the keychain (below top, right).
3. Finish by folding the keychain in half over the hardware, aligning the bottom and side edges, and glueing in place with a Hot Glue Gun (bottom).

4. Angled-Edge Keychain

This chic and simple design is perfect for making labeled keychains for house-sitters, pet-sitters, common-use bathrooms and more!

1. For each keychain, you’ll need the long rectangle shape cut from faux leather, the small square details cut from iron-on, and round keychain hardware. (below, top)
2. Iron the square detail to the inside square end of the keychain (below middle, left).
3. Fold the keychain in half over the round hardware, aligning the bottom point and side edges. Glue in place with a Hot Glue Gun (below middle, right).
4. (Optional) Add a decorative rivet just below the hardware and/or iron on a descriptive label down the length of the keychain (bottom).

5. Tabbed Keychains

These simple tabbed keychains are some of my favorite in the bunch! The shapes are actually cord label designs that I blew up and decorated with monograms and other words!

1. Cut the keychain shapes out of the pebbled leather and the monograms/labels out of iron on (below, top).
2. Iron the monograms, words, or decorative details to the keychains (below middle, right & left).
3. Fold the keychain in half over round hardware, aligning the bottom curves and side edges. Glue in place with a Hot Glue Gun (bottom).

6. Fold-Over Keychain

This keychain design is definitely the easiest of the bunch! No glue or iron-on needed!

1. For each keychain, cut the long rectangle shape with the single rounded end. Pair it with coordinating rivets and D-ring hardware (below, top).
2. Thread the rectangle through the D-ring (below middle, left).
3. Fold the square end up and the round end down (over the square end), lining up the sides (below middle, right).
4. While holding the entire keychain stacked together, place a rivet through all 3 layers, just below the keychain hardware (bottom).

7. Mini Monogram Keychains

These mini keychains are another design that were intended to be cord labels. Adding a chic monogram or picture decal makes them ideal for mailbox keys, pet sitter keys, or labels for matching backpacks, pool bags, etc!

1. Cut the keychain shapes out of the pebbled leather and the monograms/labels out of iron on (below, top).
2. Fold the keychain in half over round hardware, aligning the bottom curves and side edges. Glue in place with a Hot Glue Gun (bottom middle, left).
3. Iron monograms, words, or icons to the keychains using an iron or EasyPress Mini (below middle, right).

Other Fun Faux Leather Projects!

If you’re looking for even more great projects to make with faux leather and your Cricut, check out these other goodies:

• How to Make (Super Chic) Luggage Tags with a Cricut
• Easy DIY Cord Keepers (With FREE SVG File!)

This project is the perfect way to make labeled keychains for yourself, housecleaners, nannies, pet sitters etc. Or, you could use them to decorate bags or purses, as party favors, door prizes, scout/bookclub projects, or even grad gifts (hello school colors and logos/mascots!). I know I say a lot of things are “quick and easy” but these really, truly are! I hope you give them a try. Just be forewarned: you’re not going to want to stop making these!