DIY – Wood Bead Key Chains With Charm

Remember the Antrhopologie inspired wood bead necklace I made a few weeks back? Well, I have a ton of beads left and didn’t want them to go to waste. After cruising around on Pinterest for some ideas, I came across The Sweetest Occasion’s wooden bead key chain and was inspired to turn my left over beads in to key chains for my sweet nieces.

With Valentines Day only a few days away I thought I would  make some gifts [cute packaging included]. The key chains were fast, simple, and fun to make. These would also make a great craft for a kids party, especially that they don’t require any specialty tools and you can buy the supplies in bulk.

Supplies For Key Chains

• Twine
• Wooden beads
• Paint
• Paint brushes
• Scissors
• Jewelry cutters
• Charms

Start by painting the wood beads various pretty colors. I bought a tub of wood beads that came with a simple variety of round and square beads and ended up using a combination of small and large beads to give the pattern contrast. Hand Made Modern [found at Target] has a range of multi-surface acrylic paint colors. I used the following colors to paint my beads:

Egg // Coral // Shell // Ladybug Red // 20K Gold

The lighter pink and white took three coats of paint to evenly cover the beads, while the gold took two. Once fully dried, I added some dots, stripes, and triangles to the round beads. The white and gold square beads were left blank.

Next, I cut a 24″ length of twine and slid it through the key ring to double up the twine. In order to secure the twine to the key ring I double knotted the twine at the top leaving some room for the ring to slide through the loop.

The gold string easily frays so I taped the twine ends together to make a needle of sorts. I arranged my beads in to a pattern that varied in color, size, and shape then strung the beads on to the twine. After the last bead I tied a tight knot.

Using the jewelry cutters I cut off the charm clasp and strung the charm on to the twine beneath the knot. I secured the charm by double knotting the twine and cutting off the excess.

The charm adds personality to the key chain and reflects the lucky receiver. My niece A has a huge sweet tooth so she is getting the cupcake and my niece L is in love with Paris [just like her cool aunt] she’ll be getting the Eiffel Tower.

I love giving home-made gifts, and these key chains wouldn’t be complete without cute Valentines Day packaging. To be honest, this was a last-minute idea and I didn’t go out and buy any materials to wrap the gifts in. Instead I pulled items from my craft drawer – let’s get real, I collect craft items that I’ll someday use. Well today was that someday.

Using a heart xo stamp and pink ink, I lightly stamped the kraft bags in a random pattern. No need to get too overwhelmed with details, just go for it and have fun. [Side note – stamp the bags before you put the key chain inside]. Next, I folded the top over about 1 1/2″, punched two small holes in the center [1” apart], and strung hot pink yarn through to make a bow.

Yay! Now the key chains are ready to be sent. Don’t forget to send it with a sweet love note. And no worries on if your recipient isn’t at the age to have their own set of keys – the key chain looks just as cute dangling from a backpack.

Cheers to putting a smile on someones face this Valentines Day!

xoxo

-K

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