Get out your stash of broken jewelry and flea market trinkets to make a one-of-a-kind Glitzy Key Pendant. We turned old keys, vintage rhinestone brooches, and old unpaired earrings into these sparkly vintage key pendants. So easy and so pretty! We hope you’ll try it!
Here’s a video we made for this DIY jewelry project. Follow along as we make the Glitzy Key Pendant, then use the steps below to make your own.
How To Make A Glitzy Key Pendant
Materials and Tools
Old keys
Vintage rhinestone brooches, buttons, and earrings
Metal filigrees
Organdy ribbon
Flatback rhinestones (We chose Swarovski and ours are about 5mm.)
E6000 glue
Tweezers
Toothpicks
Wire cutters
Scissors
Steps
1. Start by tying a piece of organdy ribbon through the keyhole. We’ll use this to hang the key pendant from the chain. This way we can glue our goodies right over the hole in the key and still be able to hang the key pendant on a chain.
2. Try out different size filigrees on your key. We got our filigrees at the craft store in the jewelry supply section. You can also find them online.
3. When you find a filigree you like, add a dollop of glue to the back of the filigree. You don’t need too much. We like E6000 for this because it’s great for gluing metal to metal.
4. Press the filigree onto the key and don’t worry too much about glue coming through the holes. We’re going to glue a brooch right on top of that!
5. Snip any pin backs off your vintage rhinestone brooches. You can cut shanks off buttons too. Don’t use your best jewelry wire cutters for this. Use your old household cutters.
6. Try different brooches and rhinestone earrings out to see what you like for your design.
7. When you’ve picked out the brooch you like, add glue to the back. Make sure to get glue on all the high spots that will make contact with the filigree.
8. Press the brooch onto the filigree. You have a little time to move it around before the glue sets up.
9. To add flatback rhinestones to the key, pick one up with tweezers.
10. Put a dollop of glue on a piece of paper on your work table. (Do this before you pick up your rhinestone with the tweezers.) Use a toothpick to pick up a small amount of glue, then use the toothpick to apply the glue to the back of the rhinestone.
11. Use the tweezers to place the rhinestone. The other end of the toothpick can be helpful to push the rhinestone into place. Repeat to glue rhinestones down the front of the key.
12. To hang your pendant on your chain, lay the chain down over the ribbon that you tied to the top of the key. Tie the ribbon around the chain. Repeat to make a knot. Trim the ends of the ribbon.
Isn’t that fun?! We love how these key pendants turned out. And this is a fun project to do with kids or girlfriends!
If you make a key pendant we’d love to her about it! Leave us a comment.
Cheers,
Jennifer & Kitty
You two are so crafty talented. These are beautiful. Thanks…..
Aw you’re sweet! J&K
I love this idea as I’ve always liked keys and have kept my old ones . Thanks for the video. I can’t wait to try this.
Thanks Louise!
Love the key necklace thanks for sharing.
Thanks Cathy!
Love the key pendant
Thanks Vicki!
I love these… But I’m having a hard time finding small metal filagrees. Can you tell me where you got yours? Thanks.
Sorry you are having trouble finding them Rosemary.
Here are some (big and small) on Beadaholique:
https://www.beadaholique.com/catalogsearch/result/?type=simple&q=vintaj+filigree+stampings
We found some of these on Amazon too:
https://www.amazon.com/Vintaj-Natural-Fastenables-Filigree-Stamping/dp/B003CHOXOW/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1519932644&sr=8-11&keywords=filigree+stampings
And we like buying from Fire Mountain gems too:
http://www.firemountaingems.com/itemdetails/h20b2147fn
Hope that helps!
Jennifer & Kitty
Hi. The keys are beautiful. Where did you get the chain necklace? Did you buy a roll of the chain or did you buy an individual necklace? Can’t wait to try this project. Wendy
We bought chain at Michael’s on a spool. And we put a clasp on the end. But you could use a ready-made chain necklace too.
Jennifer & Kitty
ps: Here’s a post on how to put a clasp on a chain.
http://runningwithsisters.com/how-to-put-a-clasp-on-a-chain/
Nice post! Keys are so beautiful. Have you any advise on cleaning very old keys or type of paint to use on them to prep them for this project?
Great question Amy! We left ours with the aged patina, but you could try Brasso or a mixture of vinegar and salt to clean them.
Hope that helps!
J&K
So pretty thanks for the video
Thanks Pam!
J&K
Great tutorial! I’m wondering if you could recommend a way to clean old keys. Have you run across anything that works over others?
Great question Amy! Our first thought was Brasso, but we looked around online and found a great post from a locksmith where they compared all kinds of cleaners: https://lockreference.com/removing-tarnish-from-old-keys/
If you don’t want to invest in a polishing tumbler or Dremel tool, looks like a simple cleaning with ketchup or vinegar works pretty well for a light tarnish. Let us know what you learn!
J&K