Pour & Sparkle: Keychain Magic in Minutes
I spent one of my evenings at YXE Creations Craft Hub, turning plywood, resin, and a laser cutter into handcrafted keychain magic. And let me tell you—it was glorious.
Step 1: The "Simple" Design Phase
First, I designed my keychains in Inkscape. Simple, right? Hours vanished as I tweaked shapes, resizing cutouts, and promised myself, "Just one more variation..." (Narrator: "It was never just one more.")
By hour three, I was having deeply philosophical conversations with my computer screen. "Is this circle TRULY circular enough? What even IS a circle, really?"
Step 2: Laser Beam Dreams
Next came the laser cutter—my precious fire-breathing dragon that turns gorgeous 3mm oak plywood into art. That burning wood smell? Chef’s kiss. Unfortunately, all the fumes are toxic and need to be extracted, no fun.
Don't have a laser cutter? (What, you don't have $5000 gathering dust for random crafting whims?) Fear not—I've got pre-cut plywood blanks in my store. Skip straight to the fun part without filling your home with what can only be described as a "campfire meets chemical plant."
Step 3: Sticking It All Together
Here's where things got... sticky. Literally. I glued my layers together with only minor glue-related disasters. Titebond Original Wood Glue became both my best friend and arch-nemesis. "Quick-drying" apparently means "just enough time to realize you've aligned everything wrong."
I now have a glue fingerprint on my coffee mug. I'm considering it a signature piece.
Step 4: Picking Resin Fillers
This is when the crafting fever truly takes hold—choosing colours, glitters, and tiny decorative elements. Should I go for elegant gold shimmer or something that looks like a unicorn exploded? The answer is always "both," followed by "and maybe three more variations."
Finding my mini books perfectly fit the 40mm circle shape felt like the universe sending me a sign. Or maybe it was just good planning. (Definitely the universe.)
Pro tip: raid your nail art collection! Those tiny polymer clay cards and maple leaves you hoarded from that online shopping spree? PERFECT for resin. And nail art accessories are usually cheaper than craft supplies because the beauty industry hasn't yet realized we're repurposing their glitter.
Step 5: Pour, Wait, Pray
Mixing resin is an art (and sometimes, a gamble). I carefully poured it into my keychains and let them cure, resisting the urge to poke them every five minutes. (Patience? Never met her.)
Step 6: Tassel Time!
No keychain is complete without a little swish! I picked out matching tassels because apparently, I'm now the type of person who has strong opinions about tassel coordination. The final result? A batch of handcrafted keychains ready to dangle from keys, bags, or wherever your heart desires.
Final Thoughts
This project was messy, fun, and oddly satisfying—a perfect evening craft!
Want a quick crafting adventure without the design headaches? Grab some precut plywood blanks from YXE Creations Craft Hub and you're already halfway there! The beauty of using our pre-designed forms is that you can skip straight to the fun part—choosing your colours and watching resin work its magic. How long your project takes mostly depends on which design you pick and the resin curing time (which, let's be honest, feels like forever when you're excited to see the results).