Happy Friday! Hope you had an amazing Easter (if you celebrate). I'm back with more keychains and more cute minis. As always, I'm eager to share these charming creations with you and hear your thoughts. So, without further ado, let's dive into what's new and exciting!
- Mel <3
Sushi Roll Keychain 🍣💕
Since everyone seems to like sushi 🤗
Dimensions:
- Each charm (approx 1.25" x 1.5")
- Shrink plastic
- Keychain - Since this keychain has a lot of pieces, you'll need either an extra large jump ring or a split key ring
- Paint markers
- Black Sharpie
- *Sushi Roll keychain template available for free for Mighty Gifters in my Kofi shop*
- I used Posca markers (acrylic markers), which I highly recommend! They aren't the cheapest markers, but the quality is unbeatable. It's super bright and pigmented which makes the image look so much better. HOWEVER, it is still possible to make this keychain with regular markers, the colors just won't be as bright and solid.
- I heated the shrink plastic at 325 degrees Fahrenheit and took it out when I felt like the plastic stopped shrinking.
- Make sure to put parchment paper between the shrinking charm and the pan in the oven or else it will burn and make sure the glossy side is facing up. If the glossy side is facing down then when you go to flatten it, there is a high chance the glossy side will get scratched up by the parchment paper.
- I used a large flat object to flatten the trinket right after taking it out of the oven (the shrink plastic hardens extremely fast so you have to be faster). People tend to use large heavy books. I personally don't have any on hand, so I just use some thick cardboard and put pressure down on it with my hand and works like a charm!
- It's easier to work with smaller batches when flattening, so I'd recommend splitting this one in to two!
- I highly recommend drawing out a ruler on a test sheet of plastic and shrinking it first for proportional reference. Fair warning, it does shrink A LOT.
- The final keychain IS NOT super sturdy and has to be handled with care.
- Shrink plastic is convenient and easy BUT not reliable. The sushi pieces I made are actually stretched and not perfect. Even when taking all precautions, shrink plastic is very finicky and overall will give you decent results, but takes a lot of practice to get consistently perfect results.
Mini Pocky 💕
I grew up eating Pocky, so I thought why not gift-ify it 🤗
Dimensions:
- Each box (approx 2.25" x 1.25" x 0.5")
- Glossy photo paper (or copy paper & packaging tape)
- Colored copy paper
- *Mini Pocky box template is available for free for Mighty Gifters in my Kofi shop*
- I had glossy photo paper lying around so I used that for printing the boxes. However, if you don't have glossy photo paper, you can also just print on copy paper and cover it with packaging tape to get a similar shiny look.
- Rolling up the note papers can be a bit tricky because of the thickness of the papers. To make it easier, I discovered that running them along the edge of the table first bends the paper, making it easier to roll up neatly
Mini Love Letters 💕
I absolutely love doodling, so I'm so happy I got to create a gift that integrated doodling into it 🤗
Dimensions:
- Each letter folded (approx 1.5" x 1")
- Each letter unfolded (approx 2.75" x 3)
- Cardstock
- Markers
- Because there's so many letters, I highly suggest using cardstock to create a template of one, then using that to create all the other letters.
- The smaller the letters, the more challenging it becomes to create the tag and tie the ribbon. Therefore, depending on your desired level of ease for this project, I suggest adjusting the size accordingly 🤗
- To create the rose doodles, I colored a pink oval as the base and drew an oval-shaped swirl with a "U" added underneath for the details.
Resources
Amazon Storefront: I've curated all of my recommended materials here, complete with personal notes explaining why I love them! If you're seeking suggestions, feel free to take a look. However, if you're not into affiliate links feel free to skip it!
xTool Laser Cutter: My newest addition to my little creative workshop! I'm still learning more and more by the day, but I can definitely say it's my favorite tool by far. I have the xTool P2 laser cutter, but they offer a large range of tools. I highly recommend checking out what they have, especially since they have their St. Patrick's Day Sale going on!
Exclusive Templates: I have a support program on Kofi where I share the templates that I use in my videos so that you have all the tools you need to create DIY gifts 🤗
Some of the templates that are included:
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