How To Make Resin Keychains

How do I make resin keychains?

DIY resin keychains are a fun and popular craft project, particularly for resin beginners. Easy to personalize, they're a great way to express your creativity and are perfect for gifting or selling.

Are you interested in learning how to make your own resin keychains at home?  Artist Meg Dion, known for her resin keychains, geode phone grips, and floral wall hangings, recently dropped by the ArtResin studio to share her techniques. Her easy-to-follow tutorial features useful tips and techniques for anyone looking to craft resin keychains of their own.

Let’s get to it!

Supplies 

• ArtResin epoxy resin
• Disposable nitrile gloves
• A graduated plastic mixing cup
• A mixing stick (such as a wood or plastic craft stick)
• Heat gun
• A dust cover (such as a clean cardboard box, plastic tote or deli tray lid)
• An assortment of pressed, dried flowers & leaves
• Gold or silver leaf to add sparkle
• Tweezers
• A silicone alphabet mold (reversed so that the bottom will ends up as the top)
• Toothpicks
• A sanding block
• An electric drill and a small drill bit
• Jewelry eye pins, and keychain hardware (including a jump ring)
• 2 pairs of jewelry pliers to open and close jump rings

DIY resin keychain instructions:

Step 1: Choose Your Dried Flowers

Start by selecting the perfect flowers for your resin keychain. For the best results, choose flowers that are flat and thoroughly dried. You can either dry them yourself by pressing them in a book, or purchase them dried and pressed from craft stores or Amazon.

Learn more about using dried flowers in resin in our blog Can I Use Epoxy Resin Over Organic Materials & Natural Objects?

When creating a resin keychain with dried flowers, it's important to handle them delicately to prevent ripping or damage. Use a pair of tweezers to place them carefully beside the letter you'll be working on.

Once you have your flowers selected, it's time to mix your resin and start pouring!

Step 2: Measure and mix the ArtResin

Wearing gloves, measure the ArtResin according to the label instructions. To make 4 letters, Meg. prepared 50 ml total (25 ml of resin + 25 ml of hardener). 

Mix the resin and hardener together slowly for 3 minutes. If desired, use a heat gun on the resin periodically throughout the mixing process to eliminate bubbles. For detailed instructions, please see our blog How To Measure and Mix Epoxy Resin and Hardener.

Step 3: Pour the ArtResin 

For a flawless finish, Meg recommends pouring the resin into mold first, filling it half way (ensuring the base is evenly covered) and then applying the flowers on top. This technique will help prevent air pockets from forming in between the flowers and the mold.

Next, run a toothpick along the perimeter of the mold to release air bubbles that might have settled in the resin.

Once the resin has been poured, it's time to add the flowers on top, and then pour the remaining resin over them. This technique will ensure that your flowers are evenly and securely embedded in the resin without any air pockets or gaps.

Step 4: Add the Dried Flowers 

Use scissors to cut large flowers into smaller pieces to fit into the mold. Drop the flowers where you want them using tweezers. 

Use a toothpick to push the flower pieces down into the resin to eliminate air bubbles underneath.

Drop in small flowers and petals to fill in empty spots, using a toothpick to break them up and move them into place within the mold.

Step 5: Add Gold or Silver Leaf

Drop a small piece of gold or silver leaf into the resin, using a toothpick to break it up and move the pieces into place.

Step 6: Top Up the Molds with Remaining Resin

Top up the mold with the remaining resin to cover the flowers and gold leaf, once you’re happy with how your design looks.

Step 7: Cover and Wait 24 hours

Ensure there are no air bubbles trapped in the resin or that have risen to the surface. If so, run a heat gun very lightly over the surface or use a toothpick to fish them out of the resin.  

Cover the mold to prevent dust from settling into the wet resin and allow to cure for 24 hours.


Learn how to clean your tools in our blog How To Clean Up Epoxy Resin.

Step 8:  Unmold and Sand

Remove the letters from the mold once they are dry to the touch, approximately 18-24 hours after pouring. Note: the resin may still be pliable at this point.  This is perfectly normal. It simply indicates that the resin has not fully cured yet.

Sand rough edges smooth using a sanding block or an emery board. Or, while the resin is still flexible, you can carefully trim rough edges using a deburring tool. Do not use a deburring tool on fully cured resin. 

Step 9: Attach the Keychain Hardware

Drill a small hole for the eye pin with an electric drill and a small drill bit.

Attach the eye pin, screwing it in by hand and then using pliers when it becomes difficult to turn.

Open the jump ring on the keychain and attach it to the eye pin. Using two pairs of pliers, securely close the jump ring.  Allow the resin to sit somewhere flat to finish curing for at least 48 hours more, until it is rock hard, before putting into use.

Ta-da! You've successfully crafted your very own personalized resin keychain - a fantastic DIY project that you can proudly treasure for yourself or offer as a handmade gift to someone special.

To see more of Meg's work:
Visit her Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/ca/shop/megdionart
Watch her on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/MegDion
Follow her on Instagram: @megdionart

Interested in selling your resin keychains?  Learn all you need to know in our blog Which Resin Art Sells Best and Where To Sell Your Resin Art.

Do you want to learn more about using resin on accessories? See below our how-to tutorials: 

• Introduction to Resin Art
• How to Make Resin Jewelry
• How to Resin Pencil Crayon
• How to Make Resin Geode Art
• How to Resin Paint Marker
• How to Resin a Bracelet
• How to Use Resin Over Cricut Decals
• How to Make a Resin Geode Phone Grip
• How To Resin Marker
• Best Resin Crafts

ArtResin: The Original Epoxy For Resin Art.