How to Make Acrylic keychains with Cricut * Moms and Crafters

Learn how to make keychains with Cricut machines. These make fantastic DIY gifts and things to make and sell at home! This post contains affiliate links.

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There’s no better time than now to learn how to make keychains with Cricut – a super easy Cricut craft for beginners! This is such a hit craft that there are even specialized kits for making these in quantity.

Table of contents:

What you need to make acrylic keychains with your Cricut
Download your free keychain SVG
How to make keychains with Cricut step-by-step tutorial
Tips and Tricks before you start your acrylic keychains
Preparing Your Designs In Design Space
How to make keychains with Cricut – assembling them
Finishing Steps

Acrylic keychains are an easy Cricut craft to make and sell because it checks off all the boxes:

It uses cheap blanks/base supplies that come in bulk kits with exactly what you need.
It also uses small quantities of materials – you can even make these with scraps!
They’re quick and doable in bulk.
Because it uses small quantities of materials, you can get away with making more quicker, cutting multiple on the same mat, etc
They are a very popular gift since people like to give personalized keychains for many occasions
The combination of all of the above factors allows you to offer it at an affordable price point with a good markup

Use up scraps when you learn how to make keychains with Cricut! I just love scraps projects! While making these as a custom project for a client gives you less flexibility, making these as gifts for your friends and families means that you can use up those edges of Smart Vinyl (just put them on a mat) or even regular vinyl.

There’s nothing like a personalized gift – it’s one of the best perks of making your own. These can so easily be personalized – whether with a name, an initial or monogram, or even a company logo!

And since it’s a small craft, you can make it on any Cricut smart cutting machine – even the Joy!

So what are we waiting for? Let’s get crafting and learning how to make keychains with Cricut cutting machines!

What you need to make acrylic keychains with your Cricut

Permanent vinyl in a top color and a background color
Optional: clear vinyl to protect it
Keychain blanks and hardware – or get a complete set with tassels
Awl
Pliers
Cricut cutting machine
Standard Grip mat
Transfer tape
Basic tool set

Download your free keychain SVG

Enter your email address and your downloads will arrive in your inbox as a ZIP folder. If you don’t know how to unzip files, you can learn how easily here.

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How to make keychains with Cricut step-by-step tutorial

Tips and Tricks before you start your acrylic keychains

Always wipe down your acrylic round with alcohol so the vinyl will adhere better.
If you are worried about the vinyl lifting or scratching you can cut out a circle of clear vinyl and place it on top of the design.
Always be very gentle when removing the film from your acrylic piece so you don’t scratch the surface.
The surface does pick up fingerprints, so try to touch it as little as possible. If you do get fingerprints, just wipe the keychain down with alcohol when finished.

Preparing Your Designs In Design Space

1. In design space open a new project. On the new project screen click upload.

2. Upload your SVG file and follow the prompts to add it to your projects. You’ll see that each designs is a separate layer (note: this was made with a different SVG – I’ve added to it since this tutorial was created.)

3. Disable the layers you don’t plan to make. Adjust your color settings to suit you. Resize your layers to fit your blanks. When you’re done, save (always save!!) and hit “make it”. In the settings section you will choose premium vinyl, default pressure, fine point blade. Follow the prompts to cut your keychains.

How to make keychains with Cricut – assembling them

Step 1: Remove the film from both sides of your acrylic blank.

Step 2: Cut out your design and backing piece on your Cricut and weed. Apply your transfer tape and cut it as close to the design as you can.

Step 3: Being as accurate as you can, line it up to your acrylic piece and apply. If needed, use a piece of removable tape on the back of your blank so you can tape it to your surface while applying the vinyl.

Use a scraper/squeegee to adhere it well to your blank and then carefully peel back the transfer tape.

Step 4: Apply the backing piece (the white circle) It should now look like this:

Step 5: Using your awl push the vinyl through the hole at the top. Twist it a little so the vinyl will be flush and you have a perfect hole for your keychain component.

Step 6: Using your pliers, attach your jump ring through the hole you just made. Hang the tassel on the front side like this:

And then attach the keychain component to the back like this:

Close the jump ring and your keychain should like like this:

Finishing Steps

Wipe down the keychain with alcohol to get rid of any dust and fingerprints.
Apply your clear vinyl if you are using it.
Attach your keychain to a keychain display card for a great gift presentation or sellable end product.

You’ve successfully learned how to make keychains with Cricut! What’s your favorite Cricut craft to make? Comment below!