Easy Keychains and Tassels from Faux Leather

Instructions

STEP 1: GET MY FREE KEYCHAIN AND TASSEL DESIGN

Get my leather keychain and tassel design (Design #201) from my free resource library (get a password at the bottom of this post).

Here is what my keychain and tassel design looks likes when you place it into Cricut Design Space.

Tip: If you're not sure how to upload an SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made. If you're on an iPhone or iPad, here's how to download and upload SVG files to the Cricut Design Space app.

STEP 2: CUT YOUR FAUX LEATHER

You can easily adjust the size of the keychains and tassel by selecting the design and dragging the lower left corner of the design or adjusting the size by entering a specific height and/or width. Hide or delete any layers that you do not want to cut.

I also added a little message and a design I found in Design Space on my keychains. To add a message to your design, select the text tool and type out your message. Adjust the font and spacing if necessary. You can ungroup your text to manipulate each individual character. Just remember to select all the text and attach before you cut.

Whether you use faux leather or real leather, you will want to place your material on your StrongGrip cutting mat with the rough side up. This prevents any potential marks on the finished side of your leather. I recommend using a brayer and rolling down the leather so it is securely stuck to the cutting mat. If you are using faux leather, you'll use the fine point blade. For real leather you will want the deep point blade. Remember to move your star wheels on your Cricut Maker all the way over to the right.

STEP 3: PUT THE KEYCHAIN AND TASSEL TOGETHER

Below is my heart keychain, heat-transfer vinyl lettering, and a small piece that I cut from my teflon sheet.

I heated my EasyPress Mini to the low setting then heated my faux leather for five seconds with the teflon sheet on top the leather. Next, use a continuous rotation over the heat-transfer vinyl, with teflon sheet on top, for 30 seconds. Slowly remove the liner while warm.

One your material has cooleed, slip the leather through keychain. Place your keychain with the raw side up and apply E6000 glue. Fold keychain in half and align with the other side. Press the two sides together with your fingers for several minutes to work the glue around and ensure you have a secure seal.

Here are my three keychain designs.

To make my tassel, take a 3-4" piece of one of the strips, add E6000 glue to the raw side of the leather, insert your keyring hook, then fold in half. I used tiny clips to hold it together while the glue dried. You could also tape this to a surface using washi tape.

Once the glue for your keyring strap has dried, add E6000 glue to the inside upper end of the tassel and place keyring strap with the keyring side away from the tassel.

Spread a layer of glue along the unfringed raw side of the leather tassel and begin rolling the tassel at the end where you placed your keyring strap.

Once your tassel is rolled, you can use another section of the small strip to put on the outside of the tassel top. I then wrapped washi tape around the outside of the top of the tassel to hold it together while the glue dried.

STEP 4: SHOW IT OFF

And here are my lovely leather tassels made from the same design in two different sizes.