Charms and Key Chains Personalize Backpacks

Just home from school and you throw your backpack in a corner. Wait - your backpack worked hard all day at school too. It is time to create a charm to help your backpack stand out as yours! What have you got around the house that would make fringe? Is there extra yarn, some vegan leather cord, or some ribbon or string? Do you have any beads, pompoms or decorative thread? If so, you have a fun after school activity waiting to happen!

Here are directions for two types of charms, one made from ribbon and thread and the other from suede leather and metal wire. These charms can even hold your house key so you will never lose it. Let's get started.

Split ring key holder

Ribbon

Leather cording or Vegan leather fringe

Beads and small pompoms (this decoration is open to anything you have around the house to add to tassle)

Thread/wrapping material (wire for wrapping used in this Instructable)

Ruler

Needle nose pliers, round pliers

Scissors

4 inch wide cardboard

White Glue

1. Measure ribbon 8 to ten inches of ribbon

2. Cut at least ten strands of ribbon

3. Fold in half over the key jump split ring

4. Hold all folded ribbon next to the jump split ring

5. Begin to wrap with thread. Go around at least 20-25 times.

6. Tie of the ends of the thread with a double knot.

7. Thread the needle with the extra piece of thread and sew on pom poms or add your own decoration

8. Open split jump ring and attach to your backpack.

1. Cut a 4 inch wide rectangle of cardboard.

2. Hold your fringe at the bottom of the cardboard.

3. Wrap around all the colors. there will be about 20 threads. End the wrap at the bottom.

4. Cut a 6 inch piece of fringe and thread it under the wound threads.

5. Tie off at the top.

1. Bend the cardboard so that you can slip off the loops.

2. Hold the knot at the top and use scissors to cut the bottom of the loops.

3. Tie off all the strings near the top.

4. The leather strips often have folds in the wrong place. If you run cold water over your charm and let it dry straight.

While the charm dries you can begin to mount your beads on the wire. (I worked with a damp charm. I couldn't wait for it to dry.)

1. Thread the wire through the holes in the beads.

2. Cross over the wire and twist around using the pliers.

3. Use the long end to insert under the wrapped fringe.

4.Twist back on itself and wrap.

5. Look at the top knot that holds things together. Tie three or four more knots around the jump split ring. Dab a bit of white glue to secure the ends.

1. Open the split ring and find a cord or a zipper to attach it to.

2. Slide around the split jump ring until it is a free circle floating around a zipper or a cord of your backpack.

3. Add your keys if your parents say that it is alright.