If you’re like most people, you have at least one set of keys. Keys for your home, your vehicle, and possibly keys for your spouse’s vehicle. Why not make keychain Christmas ornaments for friends and family. They’re a gift that accomplishes two purposes, so they are a double-duty gift.
One type of key chain you can make that would also work as a Christmas ornament is a beaded key chain. They can be made relatively inexpensively but can be tailored to the intended recipient. Find out their favorite colors or their birthstone and create a key chain to match either of those color combinations.
Unless you intend to create something elaborate, nearly anyone who can thread a bead onto a piece of thread, wire, or yarn can make them. Here’s what you’ll need:
Waxed thread, narrow wire, or a piece of yarn. You can also use leather strips if you’d prefer.
* A jump ring
* A key ring
* 2 inch eye pins
* Assorted beads – glass, polished stone, or plastic pony beads – to be placed on your choice of thread, wire, yarn, or leather
* Needle-nose pliers
Choose the bead you’d like to act as the centerpiece of the key chain. It may be larger than the rest of the beads, be exceptionally pretty, or have a unique shape. Next pick out several beads and arrange them on a flat surface to decide which configuration looks best. This will enable you to see what the finished piece will look like before you have put the beads together.
Pick up one of the eye pins. Spread the eye open with the needle-nose pliers. Put a bead on the eye pin and close the eye pin back up. Add more beads until you have no less than 3/8 of an inch open. Bend the blank end of the eye pin to resemble a ring and add the second eye pin to the first and then close the first eye pin completely.
Add more beads onto the second eye pin to match the look of the first, or add the jump ring. You can then add the key ring to complete the piece. The key ring can be used to hang the “ornament”.
Use the key chain Christmas ornament as a stocking stuffer for teenagers. You might want to be sure to create a masculine looking key chain if you plan to give them to a teenage boy. Try finding items from their favorite sports team to incorporate into the key chain.
Make several key chains and hang them as ornaments on your Christmas tree. When the holiday is over, you can let loved ones pick one from the tree. The key ring Christmas tree ornament can then be used for its primary purpose.
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