While I was in Japan last April/May, despite the unhappy circumstances of my visit I did manage to go to some craft stores to see the latest trends and products. One thing I came across were these beautiful vintage-style iron-on decals by Eruberu Co, Ltd. They’re a company that manufactures a number of craft-related supplies, and these decals were just so lovely and whimsical I couldn’t help buying a few to play with. Victorian-style kitties, bunnies, little girls, roses, and birds, oh my!
So I brought them home to Oregon to my trusty old iron and ironing board, and decided to whip up some quick little keychain charms using some scrap leather I had lying around. And if you can wield an iron, you can easily make these pretty little keychain rings and cell phone charms too! Here’s how:You Need:
iron-on decals (**see bottom of post for links to purchase and ideas) / scrap leather, vinyl, or thick, stiff fabric / metal charms / jumprings for the charms / keychains, lanyard hooks, or cell phone charm lariats
Tools: iron & ironing board / shears that can cut through your material / awl or hole-punching tool / pliers and jumpring tool (or 2 sets of pliers or way to open your jumprings)
How To:
1. Choose the decals you want to use along with the charm/s. Cut out from the decal sheet.
2. First iron your material flat (and yes, even vinyl irons flat…just don’t leave the iron on it too long!!). Then iron on the largest decal according to the iron-on sheet instructions.
3. Add the smaller decals onto other parts of the scrap piece/s.
4. Peel off the decal protective layer (if you’re working with sheets that have that layer of plastic).
5. Use the shears to cut out around the images. Leave about 1/8 – 1/4″ around the images.
6. Use an awl or other sharp instrument to poke a hole at the top of each piece.
7. Attach jumprings and charms to your decal pieces, and then attach to the main keyring or cell phone charm lariat.
What do you think? These are super-sweet, and could make a wonderful little gift for someone in your life.
They can also decorate your handbag, pen case, bookmark, or date planner!
I love the look of the raw leather or vinyl with the vintage-style illustrations.
**If you’re looking for similar iron-on decals to make your own version of these DIY leather keychains, you can get these exact same ones through Rakuten sellers, or try a general search on Etsy. You could even download some digital artwork and print it out on your inkjet printer onto iron-on applique paper!
Hope you have fun with this project!
What kind of images would you use in your charm keychains?
Happy DIY’ing!
~Carly
I was thinking of doing this to my camera case! How long do the decals last on this material?
Hi Cassandra! Hmm…I’m not sure. My charms have lasted awhile, but they aren’t subject to a lot of wear and tear. My guess is that as the leather ages, the iron-on decals will start to look weathered and crack. That might look cool though!