DIY Acrylic Keychains: How To Make Your Own! 10 Easy Steps

Acrylic keychains are all the rage, and it’s no wonder why: They are very adaptive, long-lasting and may be adapted in many different ways.

Regardless if you’re an experienced do it yourself or the first timer who wants to start producing something very unique, creating keychains with acrylic will be a wonderful experience. Here, we will cover all the information you need to know to make a fabulous unique acrylic keychain for yourself from the beginning. Welcome to the land of DIY acrylic keychains and it’s time to make your creative juices flowing!

Table of Contents

Why Make Acrylic Keychains?
Materials You’ll Need
Step 1: Choose Your Acrylic Blank
Step 2: Design Your Artwork
Step 3: Print or Paint Your Design
Step 4: The Design to be applied to the Acrylic Blank is the Design we have created through this process.
Step 5: Lock and Seal Your Keychain
Step 6: Add Keychain Hardware
As you have seen above, acrylic keychains come in unique designs basically because you can imprint almost anything on them.
Getting All the Way to Tips and Tricks in Keychains
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion

1. Why Make Acrylic Keychains?

Due to their flexibility that comes as a result of the DIY technique, acrylic key chains can be customized in different ways best suitable for gifting purposes, business marketing, and personal style display. Self-made are cheaper than ordered ones and give a possibility to create freely, using different colors, designs, and types of finish. Plus, doing so is not very hard and considerable capital on tools is not needed.

2. Materials You’ll Need

To get started on your DIY acrylic keychains, gather these essential materials:
Acrylic Blanks: These are the plain or colored shapes of acrylic that forms the key base for your keychain.
Adhesive Vinyl or Sticker Paper: Previous tool which was used to put designs on the blanks of acrylic material.
Design Software (Optional): One can design with programs like Canva, Photoshop or illustrator and many more. If you do not have much time, you can use premade stickers instead.
Paint Markers or Acrylic Paint: For thosewho want to paint designs on their hats manually.
Sealant (Clear Epoxy Resin or Clear Acrylic Spray): Shields the design on the keychain.
Keychain Rings and Hardware: Strictly these will secure the keychain on the keys.
Transfer Tape (if using vinyl): Enables getting vinyl designs onto acrylic without the formation of bubbles.
Scissors or Craft Knife: For cutting out designs.
Sanding Block or Fine Sandpaper (Optional): To de-bur on any edges thus requires on the acrylic blanks, in the event that the edges are rough to allow for easy cutting.

3. Step 1: Choose Your Acrylic Blank

There are many types and forms of acrylic blanks available: from simple round ones, in a set of various thicknesses and colors, to decorated blanks. For novices there are more likely to be choices which are circular or square in shape as these are very manageable. For those who are daring you can decide to have several outlines for the earrings such as heart shapes, stars, animals or even personal messages.

On the thickness of your acrylic blanks, you should also pay attention. whereas to use that design the acrylic should be thin because it is small, light and simple in design, the acrylic should be thicker because it is strong and durable.

4. Step 2: Design Your Artwork

Now, let’s bring your vision to life by designing artwork for your keychain:

Digital Design: If you are good at graphic design, then draw a one of a kind design on Illustrator, Photoshop, or Canva. Choose the file format in PNG or JPG and save your design.

Hand-Drawn Design: Hand drawings can be scanned and uploaded back into the computer or print the designs directly on the sticker paper.

Using Premade Stickers: However, if you don’t have time or the patience for designing something yourself, there are plenty of readily available sticker or vinyl decals you can purchase which are relevant to your theme.

Pro Tip: This last piece of advice is quite practical: don’t use too many elements and stick to a limited number of colors. Such details may well become distorted or masked when placed on the acrylic surface.

5. Step 3: Print or Paint Your Design

When your design is completed, you have to put it on the acrylic blank which is going to act as your final result. There are two main methods: with configured transfer application of adhesive vinyl or raw hand painting.

Using Adhesive Vinyl

Print Your Design: Make sure that you print it on the vinyl sticker paper. The colours should be bright and the prints clear.
Cut Out the Design: To make it you should carefully cut out your design using scissors or a craft knife.
Apply Transfer Tape: They transfer tape their vinyl design and after that smoothen it to ensure that there are no air bubbles present.

Hand-Painting Your Design

Sketch on the Acrylic: If you’re confident, you can paint right onto the blank. Or else, draw a rough plan of how you would like your design to appear first.
Use Acrylic Paint or Paint Markers: When painting, make sure that your images are contained within your sketch lines. The subsequent coating should therefore be applied subsequent to making sure that the first one has dried adequately in order to give clear colors.

6. Step 4: You have to apply the design to the acrylic blank and then it can be painted or stained.

Reflecting my design on the blank There is no secret that before printing, any work piece has to be ready and designed. Here’s how to do it with each method:

With Adhesive Vinyl:

Position the Vinyl: Align the transfer tape side of the vinyl onto the acrylic blank onto which the graphics is to be applied.

Smooth it Out: You may use another card or your fingers to make the bubbles smooth so that they don’t hinder the process.

Remove the Transfer Tape: Slowly and gently remove the transfer tape off the acrylic to have only the cut vinyl sticker placed on it.

For Painted Designs:

Make sure let the paint to dry before going for the next session in order to avoid smudging it.

7. Step 5: Secure and Shield Your Key Chain

To guarantee the design is preserved and doesn’t slip away with time, it has to be sealed.

Clear Acrylic Spray Sealant: The fastest and simplest solution is to just coat the keychain with a clear acrylic sealer. Using the can for spraying, make sure you stand at 6- 8 inches away from your target surface and give it a uniform layer.

Epoxy Resin (for durability): If the person wants a glossy and protective surface coat, then he should apply a very thin coat of epoxy resin over the work. With a toothpick or a soft brush apply it gently throughout the surface. Then let is cure according to the manufacturer’s guidelines and stirring occasionally.

Pro Tip: Use two layers of sealant if the keychain will undergo much abuse because this will significantly increase its life span.

8. Step 6: Add Keychain Hardware

Once the box is designed and paint is completely dry, it is the time to make the acrylic piece to function as a keychain!

Drill a Small Hole (if needed): If the blank has no initial hole that was previously drilled, you can make the hole with a small drill on top of the acrylic.
Attach the Keychain Ring: Pass a jump ring, or some other small metal loop, through the hole. Next, insert the keychain ring to have one awesome looking key holder.

9. Interesting Suggestions for Acrylic Key Rings

Now that you know the basics, here are some creative ideas for unique keychains:

Glitter Keychains: For an added effect, you can adorn the back of the acrylic with glitter, or put some compounds together with epoxy to create this shimmering look.

Double-Sided Keychains: Place a print on the front side of the texture for added versatility and put another print on the back side.

Initials and Names: Custom made name tags in the form of key holders are the current ideal and can be used as gifts.

Miniature Paintings: Perhaps one might attempt minature landscapes, floral works, styles, or any abstract work on the keychain.

Quote or Phrase Keychains: Quote or statement to inspire for a motivational piece of jewelry.

10. Secrets to Achieving the Best Keychains

Creating a flawless acrylic keychain takes practice, but here are some tips to help:

Avoid Air Bubbles: When using vinyl or sealant be careful not to trap in bubbles of air. Carefully try to flatten the vinyl to make sure the sealant is applied in thin layers.

Use Quality Materials: Good quality vinyl for the cutter, acrylic blanks to engrave, and a good grade sealant will ensure that your keychain product looks very professional.

Practice on Scrap Material: If you have not used vinyl or epoxy before you can try on a piece of scrap before working with actual items.

Customize with Accessories: You can also add tassel, charm or beads to your keychain for the extra style you want.

Keep It Simple: Most of the simpler concepts should ideally be engraved on small key ring holders. Do not clutter the area with too much information.

11. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I make a keychain out of acrylic if I do not have vinyl? A: Yes! While you may paint the designs directly on the acrylic, you can also use ready made stickers, or transfer the designs on the sticker paper.

Q: Where can I find acrylic blanks? A: You can purchase acrylic blanks from craft stores, from sites on the Internet such as Amazon, or specialty DIY sites.

Q: How long is the curing time? A: Cure time for most epoxy resins vary and may take up to 24 hours for the chemical to set completely. Make sure to carefully read the manufacturer’s guidelines on the epoxy product that you have for the best result.

12. Conclusion

Creating keychains using acrylic sheets is an excellent idea, great for self-fulfillment, interior designing or even for creating small business. Here is the tutorial on how to make key chains with minimum and very accessible materials and time required. Please be sure to follow each step properly and, for the best results, you can try different colors, designs and even finishes. Happy crafting!

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DIY Acrylic Keychains: How To Make Your Own! 10 Easy Steps

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