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