Barbie Shoes Keychains (A DIY Project Post)

 

The release of the Barbie live-action movie has made “Barbiecore” the ‘latest fashion craze’, to borrow lyrics from the song “The Barbie Touch”, which was featured in “The Magical World Of Barbie” live stage show performed at Epcot in Walt Disney World during 1994. Considering the current popularity of Barbie inspired fashion, I’ve decided to share a little keychain DIY project that I crafted a few years back. Are there Barbie shoes lying around your house that no longer have matches? If you are a parent with young children, then there’s a good chance that the answer is yes. So, why not put those shoes to good use by making yourself a keychain or bag clip? I’m a fashion doll collector as well as a keychain collector, so I’ve found my share of single Barbie shoes in bag lots of doll clothing I’ve purchased secondhand. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and I originally came up with this keychain idea because I had a bag of mismatched Barbie shoes that I didn’t know what to do with.

To make a keychain similar to the one shown in the photo, you will need a short piece of chain with a split ring or some other type of keychain or clip finding at the top, to use as a base. You will also need some Barbie shoes, some jump rings to attach the shoes to the chain, and some jewelry pliers or other small pliers to open the jump rings.

The easiest way to get the shoes onto the chain is by using shoes that have straps, like the light pink, solid colored high heel used in the sample keychain. Just hang the shoe by the strap using a jump ring, and then attach the jump ring to one of the links of the chain. You can fasten all of the shoes to a single, larger jump ring at the bottom of the chain like I did. Or you can hang each shoe from a separate chain link, positioning the first shoe higher up on the chain and then alternating the placement of the other shoes on either side as you work your way down the chain.

If you would like to use a shoe that doesn’t have a strap, the transparent pink glittery high heel seen in the photo is a typical example, then you will need to find something to poke a hole through the shoe, near the top, for the jump ring. Something sharp but on the thinner side, like a thumbtack or a sturdy sewing needle, could work well for this, depending on the thickness of the plastic as well as the flexibility. Some of the plastics used to make Barbie shoes are somewhat rubbery, while others are firmer. In you are very careful, you could heat the end of a long, metal sewing needle with a candle flame before poking the hole, to make puncturing the plastic easier. I would not recommend letting children do any of the shoe piercing, even without the added element of heat.

Also, be careful with the placement of your hole. If you poke the hole too close to the top edge of the shoe, you might end up tearing the plastic, instead of making a hole. If you poke your hole too far down, you might have trouble finding a jump ring with a large enough diameter to attach the shoe to the chain. If the plastic shoe seems just too hard to pierce, I would recommend finding a different Barbie shoe for your project, unless you have sufficient experience with a craft drill. In any case, once you have a hole in the shoe that goes all the way through, you'll need to thread an open jump ring through the hole, so that the shoe can be suspended from the chain.

Here’s another example of a keychain made from a doll shoe.

This shoe is from the Monster High doll line. To make the keychain, I threaded some jewelry wire through a gap behind the heel of the shoe. I then used pliers to shape the wire into a wrapped loop before attaching the snake chain with snap end.

I hope that you enjoyed this post, and that my timing in posting it didn’t come across as too ‘click-baity’.

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