Christmas Gifts: 2019

This past holiday season my third sister, A., proved just how well she knows me. She gave me keychains for Christmas!

Here's a photo of my Christmas keychain haul. My sister picked these up at various places she stopped while driving home for the holidays, after her seasonal position in the Great Smoky Mountains was over. Anyway, let's take a closer look.

This first keychain came from Goats On The Roof in Tiger, Georgia, a tourist attraction that seems to defy description. While researching the location online I saw it alternately described as a restaurant, a country store, and a petting zoo.

These two keychains came from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The purple rocket keychain is 3D printed according to my sister, and the circular keychain looks like it was made from a poker chip. There's a cool looking NASA logo on the back.

I forget where my sister said she bought the keychain pictured below.

I also don't know enough about boats to definitively identify the shape and form. But from what I found online, I think this keychain is meant to be some kind of canoe with outriggers. What I can tell you is that it's made from varnished wood.

This red, bear-shaped keychain is made of metal. I've seen similar keychains in other animal shapes before, and I'm reasonably certain that the bear's front claw is meant to be used as a bottle opener. I researched the website printed on this keychain, and discovered that it's an informational site providing safety tips for people who live in the same territory as black bears.

My sister wasn't the only one who gave me something for my collection this past holiday season. I found this little guy in my Christmas stocking. He's an Elf On The Shelf Plushee Pal. I've replaced the plastic clip with a metal split ring, as I normally do. Add this to the keychains my sister gave me, and I'd say I got a pretty good haul.

Signed, Treesa

Converting Backpack Clips Into Keychains (A DIY Project Post)

It's probably happened to all keychain collectors who shop secondhand. You're at a flea market or yard sale and ask the seller if they have any keychains, and they hold up something with an oversized plastic clip that there's no way you could store keys on. Or you're on your favorite online auction site and type in the search term 'keychain lot', only to have your search results come back riddled with these oversized plastic backpack clips. I know there are some collectors who don't see this as an issue. Large or small, metal or plastic, they collect them all. But as far as my personal collection goes, I happen to think that if something is being sold as a keychain you should be able to actually put keys on it.

The problem is that some of these 'backpack clips' are just too adorable for me to pass up. So in this post, I'll be discussing how to replace the plastic clips with actual keychain findings, just in case there are other collectors out there as neurotic as I am. To start this project, you'll need a backpack clip. Backpack clips are usually fairly easy to find second hand, because many fast food restaurants use them as premiums in their kids' meals. And when a family with young children is having a yard sale, fast food toys are often some of the first things that are put out for sale.

I've chosen a plush Simba character from Disney's The Lion King for this example. According to the tag, this clip originally came from The Disney Store, so the quality is probably a little better than your average fast food backpack clip. The important thing when choosing a backpack clip to modify is to make sure that the clip part is made from plastic, the softer the better. In this demo, the plastic clip is attached to the top of Simba's head with a small loop of ribbon. The trick for me is to remove the clip without damaging this ribbon loop, since I'll need it later to attach a keychain finding. The easiest way I've found to do this is to cut off the clip with an inexpensive pair of medium sized wire cutters, like the ones pictured below.

I would not recommend using expensive wire cutters for this project. Cutting plastic is probably not one of the approved uses for this tool, and most likely dulls the heck out of the cutters. Now, the ribbon loop on Simba's head is threaded through a plastic loop at the bottom of the clip. I carefully shift the ribbon over to one side, then cut through the opposite side of the plastic loop. I then make a second cut below the first one. If both cuts went all the way through, this will cause a chunk of the plastic loop to fall out, leaving a gap in the loop where I can remove the ribbon.

You may want to wear eye protection while you're cutting, just to be safe. Keep in mind that some types of plastic are softer and easier to cut through than others. Also keep in mind that the edges of the gap might be a little rough or jagged. Be careful not to snag the ribbon as you remove the clip.

After removing the plastic clip from Simba, I replaced it with a gold tone metal split ring.

I felt that the gold would coordinate better with Simba's coloring than silver.

If the backpack clip you want to modify uses a metal clip, there are ways to work around this. In the photo below I took a Cancun souvenir clip and added a split ring to it.

You can see that the original metal clip is still there. But manufacturers have, in the past, made keychains that feature both a split ring and a clip so I'm not that worried about it.

Very rarely, you'll find a metal backpack clip like the one pictured below. The metal was so thin and lightweight (it felt like aluminum, or something similar) that I was able to cut right through it.

Originally this clip was attached to a Disney princess coin purse. I replaced the clip with a split ring. You can see the end result in the photo below.

Of course, there are some items used on backpack clips that are too oversized to work convincingly as keychains, even if they are converted. Keychains are generally pocket-sized, though I've been known to stretch this a little in my own collection. Your best bet is to use your own judgment when choosing backpack clips to convert into keychains.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, not every keychain collector is as neuerotic as I am. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some collectors who think I'm insane for spending so much time and effort replacing backpack clips with split rings and other keychain findings. But for collectors like me who have placed certain limitations on their collections, I hope that this post helps to open up new avenues to explore on their collecting journeys.

Signed, Treesa

Converting Figurines Into Keychains (A Quick DIY Project Post)

I bought this C3PO Star Wars figurine by Hasbro at a flea market for fifty cents a while back, specifically with the intention of turning him into a keychain. The reason I chose this specific figure was because of his arms. More specifically, each arm is positioned so that it forms a closed loop, leaving an open space next to his body that is perfect for attaching a keychain finding.

With C3PO I chose to use a ball chain finding, since it was the easiest option. However, other types of keychain findings can be used for this kind of project. In the example below, I used jump rings to attach a split ring and a swivel connector to a Clarabelle Cow Disney figurine that I bought secondhand.

Because the positions of both figures' arms resulted in two open spaces next to the body, I actually had a choice of where to place the keychain findings. In C3PO's case, I tried both options, and discovered that the figure hung better from the chain if I used the upper opening.

I'll admit, the C3PO figure was a bit scuffed up when I bought him. But I felt this added to the overall look, giving C3PO a weathered appearance. Of course, if this keychain was subjected to heavy use there's a good possibility that it would quickly become more 'weathered' than I'd like. However, since it was intended for my personal collection it shouldn't be subjected to too much wear and tear.

Here's one final example of a figurine that I've converted into a keychain.

This Disney Crossy Road Mini Figurine of Woody from the Toy Story films was manufactured by Moose Toys. The 'pixilated' art style used for these figures is certainly unique. However, I doubt that I'll be going out of my way to get more of these. Of course, if I happen to find another one in a box of odds and ends at a flea market like I found this one, then who knows.

Signed, Treesa

Hobbies And Fandoms

Since I buy most of my keychains secondhand, it probably won't surprise anyone that I own a keychain that says, "I Brake For Garage Sales".

Even non-collectors will use keychains as a way to advertise what interests them. Whether the subject of their devotion is a hobby, a television series, a film, or a band, chances are there's a keychain in support of it. I myself have a number of keychains that 'cross over' into other areas that interest me. There are several things besides keychains that I collect or have collected over the years, and when these other collectables have shown up in keychain form, well, I just couldn't resist buying them. I collect Barbie fashion dolls, so naturally I also have a collection of Barbie doll keychains from Basic Fun Inc.

As a child my favorite animals were dolphins and turtles, and I collected both in plush form. So it makes sense that I have dolphin and turtle plush keychains.

Actually, I'm drawn to pretty much any keychain with a dolphin or turtle design.

There are other things that I no longer collect, but I still have a reminder of my past interest in keychain form. Things like...marbles.

At one time I had quite an extensive collection of marbles. What makes this really odd is the fact that I never actually learned to play marbles. I was just drawn to the pretty colors of the glass.

I also had a rock collection when I was a kid.

My dad got me into rock and mineral collecting, but I lost interest later in life. However, as you can see from the photo above, I still have quite a number of rock and mineral keychains. I have no idea which minerals most of them are made from. I think the one with the jagged edges might be Irish marble, and the two at the top of the picture are a geode of some kind and, I think, a piece of coal.

The whitish rock with the brown tip in this second photo is citrine, according to the tag. The clear rock is most likely quartz, and I think the egg shaped stone with the mirror-like finish is hematite.

However, it wasn't just my other collections that influenced my choice of keychains. It was also my hobbies.

I've been known to dabble in a number of crafts, including card making, scrapbooking,

and jewelry making.

For the record, I didn't actually make the beaded keychains in the photos above. They were made by two different women, who sold their creations to me at different flea markets.

As for fandoms that I support or have supported in the past, I'm enough of a Star Wars fan that I own several Star Wars keychains.

However, my support for the franchise stops with the original trilogy. I only watched the first of the three prequel films, and I won't watch the newer films, mostly because I've heard enough about the films' plots to know that I don't really want to see them. I'd rather pretend that things went well for the characters after Return Of The Jedi.

For those of you who have enjoyed the subsequent movies, I hope I haven't offended you. I have nothing against people who are fully committed to the Star Wars franchise. I'm just not one of those people. Now, you may be wondering why one of the Star Wars keychains pictured above is from Episode I, since I already stated that I don't really acknowledge the prequels. I just thought the keychain's design of a lightsaber battle in silhouette looked cool.

I also have a fondness for Star Trek.

My paternal grandfather loved Star Trek, and my dad is a fan of the original series. I myself watched Star Trek Voyager in the later seasons, and I even checked out the first few episodes of Enterprise, back when it was originally broadcast. I'm pretty sure that the spaceship keychain pictured above is meant to represent a Klingon Bird Of Prey. The shape seems right, although the color scheme may be a tad off.

I don't think this next keychain actually has anything to do with Star Trek. But it does say USS Enterprise on it, so I can pretend.

I guess that's about it as far as my fan loyalties go. I sort of gave up on television a few years ago, and I rarely go to the multiplex. The sound system there is just too loud for me. There are a few franchises that I'm trying to finish acquiring on dvd. But I don't have any keychains for them, yet. I'm not actually sure how much tie-in merchandise was produced, if any. So, if anyone happens to know where I can buy licensed keychains for either Mystery Science Theater 3000 or Discovery Channel's Mythbusters series, please leave me a comment.

Signed, Treesa