How to Make Jewelry Keychains
A jewelry keychain is an easy and inexpensive project for all ages. With the assortment of beads, charms and gems that are available, you can let your creativity run wild. Jewelry keychains can be made with cording, ribbon, fishing line and other materials. Bearing these variations in mind, one classic and pretty version can be made from beads, a charm and jewelry wire. You can adapt this approach to your own taste by using an alternative material for the wire or just using one big charm, among other possibilities.
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Things You'll Need
- Assorted beads
- Charm
- Jewelry wire
- Jump rings
- Crimp beads
- Crimping tool
- Jewelry pliers
- Wire cutters
- Split ring
Instructions
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1
Choose the beads and charms that you will use for your jewelry keychain. The number of beads and charms you will need depends on how long you want your keychain to be and also on the size of the beads.
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2
Decide how long you want your keychain to be and add an extra two inches. Cut twice that length of jewelry wire.
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3
Place your charm on one end of the jewelry wire. Fold the jewelry wire in half and bring the ends together to ensure the charm is in the center of the wire. Depending on the charm you use, you may need to place a jump ring onto the charm before putting it on the wire. Use your jewelry pliers and open the jump ring just enough to slide it onto the charm. Close the jump ring with your pliers. Put the wire through the jump ring instead of the charm itself.
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4
Begin sliding your beads onto the doubled-up wire. Leave two inches of wire without beads to allow for finishing the keychain.
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5
Place a crimp bead onto the wire. Use your crimping tool to securely close the crimp bead around the wire just above the top of the beads.
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6
Place another crimp bead onto the wire. Do not crimp it closed.
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7
Put the ends of the wire through a jump ring. Fold the wire around the jump ring to form a loop.
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8
Stick the ends of the wire through the open crimp bead. Pull the wire through the crimp bead until the wire is almost tight around the jump ring. Close the crimp bead with your crimping tool. Cut off the excess wire.
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9
Open the split ring and slide the jump ring through the split ring to complete your jewelry keychain.
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Tips & Warnings
Take caution when using jewelry wire as it can be sharp.
Injuries can occur when using the wire cutters, pliers and crimping tool if they are not used properly.
References
Resources
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