One of the things that excited me most about the Cricut Maker is it’s versatility. In this project alone it’s cutting a thick material like leather and then by simply switching out the blade it can cut fine detail from the iron-on. There are so many fun projects that this could be used for. To test it out I decided to make some sweet keyrings with leather and gold iron-on vinyl. I’m so happy with how they turned out! They would make great little gifts. The same idea could be used for name cards, bookmarks, labels or so much more.

If you’d like to get hold of a Cricut Machine you can find a full list of South African retailers here. I’ve also written a bit more about my initial experience here. Thank you to The Wholesaler SA, the sole importers of Cricut to South Africa, who gifted my the Cricut Maker. All content, words and views are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help keep Pure Sweet Joy going.

Leather Keyrings DIY //  2 Free SVG patterns for Cricut

What you need

Materials:
Leather
Iron-on/Heat Transfer Vinyl
Craft Glue
Transfer Tape (optional, but will preserve your mat. See steps below)
Keyring
Sunshine Keyring Patterns – (SVG and PNG file)
Beautiful Keyring Patterns – (SVG and PNG file)

Tools:
Cricut Maker
Knife blade
Premium Fine Point blade
Strong Grip mat
Standard Grip mat
Weeding tool
Scraper
Ice-cream stick or other scrap, to spread glue

What to do

Leather shapes
To make the leather shape click “Shapes” on the left panel of Design Space. Drag a circle or heart to your desired size.

Circle:
My circles are 4cm in diameter. Copy-Paste it and move it a little away. Add a square, unlock the shape (bottom left) and then drag it narrower. Align all three shapes centrally. Weld them together.

Heart:
Rotate inserted heart using the arrow on the top right corner of the shape. Copy-paste and then flip the second one vertically. Align both hearts horizontally. Add a square, unlock the shape (bottom left) and then drag it narrower. Weld them together.

Iron on Design
Upload the SVG or PNG design (available in the material list above) to Design space. Resize to the desired shape for your keyring.

Cutting it
Click “Make it”. 

A few things to note:

• Choose the correct leather material option for the leather that you are using and cut it using the knife blade. 
• Stick a piece of transfer tape to your leather (sticky side to underside of the leather) and then stick the other side of the transfer tape firmly to the strong grip mat. This will help to keep your mat clean.
• Remember to change the knife blade to the premium fine point blade and mirror your design for the iron-on.

Weed the negative space of the iron-on vinyl and place it where you’d like to iron it. Cover your leather and iron-on with a piece of paper and gently iron over the iron-on design. 

Gently lift the transfer tape of the iron-on to check if it is fully adhered. Slip your keyring into the center of the leather.

Use glue on one side of the leather, only on the shape. Spread out the glue evenly, keeping it off the straight part of the leather.

Fold the leather over and neatly line up the two sides.

Leather Keyring // DIY with Cricut

Print

Materials

• Leather
• Iron-on/Heat Transfer Vinyl
• Craft Glue
• Transfer Tape (optional, but will preserve your mat. See steps below)
• Keyring
• Sunshine Keyring Patterns
• Beautiful Keyring Patterns

Tools

• Cricut Maker
• Knife blade
• Premium Fine Point blade
• Strong Grip mat
• Standard Grip mat
• Weeding tool
• Scraper
• Ice-cream stick or other scrap, to spread glue

Instructions

1. Cut out your chosen designs using your Cricut Maker. Use either the direct links to the projects in Design Space or upload the patterns that are included in the materials list above.
2. Weed the  negative space of the iron-on vinyl and place it where you’d like to iron it. Cover your leather and iron-on with a piece of paper and gently iron over the iron-on design. 
3. Gently lift the transfer tape of the iron-on to check if it is fully adhered. Slip your keyring into the center of the leather.
4. Use glue on one side of the leather, only on the shape. Spread out the glue evenly, keeping it off the straight part of the leather.
5. Fold the leather over and neatly line up the two sides.

Notes

• Choose the correct leather material option for the leather that you are using and cut it using the knife blade. 
• Stick a piece of transfer tape to your leather (sticky side to leather) and then stick the other side of the transfer tape firmly to the strong grip mat.
• Remember to change the knife blade to the premium fine point blade and mirror your design for the iron-on.