So rather than just pinning every pretty thing I see on Pinterest, I’ve started tackling some of my favorite projects. First up this tassel keychain. Being an Interior Designer gives you lots of access to lots of samples. I have a very colorful stack of leather swatches lying around that have been begging me to create something out of them. I always always lose my keys in my purse and a tassel keychain would be the perfect solution.

The supplies were mostly items I had lying around the house, aside from the brass keyring I picked up at the local hardware store. I like the closure on it because it’s easy to snap onto my keys without breaking a nail. I know that sounded a lot more diva than I intended it, but you know what I mean. I decided to use two coordinating colors of leather for my tassel. I chose a fun citron for the main body of the tassel with a small accent of mint.

First I cut a 3″ x 6″ piece in the main color, and marked a line across the top about 1/2″ down where my fringe would stop.

Carefully I cut teeny tiny strips up to the line I had marked to create a nice fringe. The smaller the strips the harder they are to cut, but the better they’ll look in the end. Trust me! My swatches had holes punched in them and the manufacturer’s name embossed, but I worked around it, knowing the hole punch would be on the inside of my tassel.

Once all of your strips are cut, it’s time to cut a small 1/2″ x 3″ piece of leather in a coordinating color for the tab.

Be sure to wrap your tab around your keychain and glue BEFORE you attach it to your fringe. If your keychain is anything like mine, this step is crucial otherwise how will you attach it when you’re done?

Place a small stripe of glue along the top of the backside of your fringe piece. Attach your tab at one end and begin tightly rolling your fringe piece around your tab. Be sure to use a strong glue for this, you don’t want it slipping around. I chose Aleene’s quick-dry tacky glue. I use this stuff for EVERYTHING. If it can hold porcelain tile on a finish board, it can do anything.

Now to cover that little line you drew, and to hide any imperfections in cutting cut a small strip long enough to wrap around your tassel. Mine was 1/4″ x 2″. After glueing it around your tassel take your brass nail and tap it into the strip you just added to hide the two overlapping ends. I like the little bit of bling it adds too. That’s right. Tassel has bling.

And you’re done! I even made one for my mom too :) Twinsies!

I have lots of colors left if anyone wants me to make them one. I’m selling them for $10. Let me know if you’re interested!