How to Make Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychains with a Cricut
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain using faux leather, heat transfer vinyl, and a Cricut! These keychains are an easy and fun summer Cricut craft.
Learn how to make a Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain with a Cricut
I love using faux leather and heat transfer vinyl to make simple and fun summer faux leather keychains with my Cricut. This Summer Popsicle Keychain project is so easy to make with a Cricut Maker, Maker 3, Explore Air 2 or Explore 3, or even the Cricut Joy.
I have the keychain SVG templates for sale in my SVG shop here.
Get the SVG for this project from my SVG Shop
These SVGs are also included in my Summer Keychains Event SVG Bundle – you can learn more and get it here.
So if you’re ready to try making these Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychains with a Cricut, let’s get started!
Want to watch a video tutorial on YouTube instead? Check it out below!
How to make a Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain with a Cricut Video Tutorial
You can watch this video now on my Youtube Channel
Printable Instructions for this Project
For printable instructions for this project, click here.
How to make a Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain with a Cricut Step by Step
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Materials you’ll need to make a Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain with a Cricut
Get all 12 Days of Cricut Summer Keychain SVGs!
Love this Cricut Summer Keychain project? It’s one of my 12 days of surprise faux leather keychain designs created just for my Cricut Summer Keychains Event. Get all 17 event keychain SVGs at once by purchasing the Instant Access SVG Bundle below.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Get the keychain SVG templates for this keychain project
You can get the Summer Popsicle Keychain SVG templates included in the Cricut Summer Keychains Event Bundle here or individually from my shop here. You’ll receive an order confirmation email with a link to download the SVG after purchasing.
Save the zipped folder that downloads to your computer. You’ll need to unzip or extract the folder FIRST so you can upload the keychain SVG file to Cricut Design Space.
Step 2: Upload the SVG template to Cricut Design Space.
Click on Upload Image, then browse to where your unzipped file SVG is located on your device.
Click on it to upload it to Design Space. You’ll see a preview of the three summer popsicle keychain SVGs on the screen. Click the UPLOAD button.
Then select the SVGs from your Recent Uploads row and click Add to Canvas. Your Canvas should look like this:
All three of these designs will be made in the exact same way, but I’ll be showing how to make the first one in this video.
If you are only making one popsicle like I am, delete or hide the other two from your canvas.
If you are using the Cricut Joy, you may need to resize the keychain layers down a bit to fit on the Joy sized mat (unless you are using the 12 inch Joy mat). For any other Cricut machine, it isn’t necessary to resize the keychain. Click the green “Make It” button.
Step 3: Prepare to Cut the Keychain Shapes in Cricut Design Space
First, select “On Mat” for how you’ll upload your materials to Design Space.
Then click on each mat in the Mat Preview screen and toggle the MIRROR button to ON (green). This is because faux leather and heat transfer vinyl cut in reverse (face down) on the cutting mat.
After you’ve mirrored each mat, repeat clicking on each mat and drag the shapes on each mat away from the edges and away from each other slightly.
On the faux leather layer mat, make a note of what size faux leather you need to place on your mat to cut the keychain base shape out completely with a little room to spare.
For this project and cutting with a Cricut Maker, I need a piece of faux leather about 3 inches wide and a little under 9 inches tall.
See the Layering Guide graphic below to know which layer will cut from what material and in what order to press the vinyl layers.
If you’re making the Patriotic or Watermelon Popsicles instead, refer to the layering guides for those designs below.
Repeat these steps with the vinyl mats.
Then click back on the faux leather mat to select it again. Click the green CONTINUE button to make the first material selection.
Step 4: Make Material Selections
Choose the material selections you’ll use to cut each mat. I always cut the faux leather mat first.
I use the Faux Leather (Paper Thin) setting with “More” pressure for the faux leather mat.
If you don’t have this faux leather material setting as a favorite, click “Browse All Materials” to search for it and select it.
Note for Explore Air 2 users: Cricut Explore Air 2 users will need to turn the dial to “Custom” before choosing Faux Leather (Paper Thin).
Use the material setting recommended by your vinyl manufacturer for your vinyl.
I use the Vinyl or Washi Sheet setting with “Default” pressure for my regular vinyl mats, and the Glitter Vinyl setting with “Default” pressure for my glitter HTV mats.
If you are using Siser Glitter HTV like I do, I find it’s best to repeat the cut one time before unloading the mat.
Step 5: Cut the Faux Leather and Vinyl Mats
Cut a piece of faux leather just slightly larger than the size shown in the mat preview screen.
Place the faux leather pretty side down on a purple Cricut Strong Grip mat in the location shown on the mat preview screen.
Press the faux leather down to the mat well with your hands or roll over it with a brayer. Then put blue painter’s tape around on all sides.
Make sure the white “star wheels” on the roller bar are pushed off to the side so the wheels don’t make indentations in your material.
Load the mat into the Cricut and begin the cut.
Once the cut is complete, BEFORE unloading the mat, use a sharp weeding tool to check and see if the cut is complete.
If not, press the C button again to repeat the cut. You can repeat the cut as many times as necessary as long as you haven’t unloaded the mat.
When the cut is complete, unload the mat and remove the keychain shape. You can trim any stray fuzz with small curved scissors.
Repeat the cutting process on the Heat Transfer Vinyl mats using a Standard Grip green cutting mat and the recommended cut settings for your particular vinyl.
Remove the cut vinyl from the mat and weed away the excess vinyl.
Trim apart any shapes for the front and back of each side of the keychain, being careful not to trim apart the shapes that have been attached in the SVG to make placement easy.
For example, in the layer in the photo below, don’t trim apart the three light pink popsicle line shapes, keep them connected for easy placement.
When all of your vinyl layers are trimmed apart, it’s time to heat press the vinyl layers of the Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain.
Step 6: Assemble the Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain
Remember to refer to the Layering Guide for this project to see which layers to press in what order.
I press vinyl to faux leather using a Cricut EasyPress Mini on the “low” setting (one green bar). You can also use a traditional EasyPress set to 255-265 degrees.
Place the first vinyl layer onto the faux leather layer on a heat pressing pad.
Then cover with a piece of Teflon sheet, parchment paper, or butcher paper.
Press for about 10 seconds. After 10 seconds, remove the cover sheet and carefully try to peel up the clear vinyl cover sheet. If it peels up easily, remove it.
If the vinyl is pulling up, place the clear vinyl cover layer back down and repeat pressing for 5-7 seconds. Repeat this process until the vinyl adheres to the faux leather well.
Once the first vinyl layer is well pressed onto the faux leather keychain shape, repeat with the other vinyl layers in order.
Then repeat the pressing on the other side of the keychain.
PRO TIP: When both sides of the keychain have all the vinyl layers applied, place the warm faux leather keychain under your pressing pad or something flat for a minute or two to help it cool flat.
Thread a 1.25″ keyring onto the center of the connected faux leather keychain shape. You can do this step either before you heat press your vinyl, or after.
Now it’s time to glue the faux leather keychain together.
I’m using Fabri-Tac glue, but you can use any good fabric glue or craft glue that spreads easily and in a thin, even layer, like Bearly Art Glue.
Place the connected faux leather keychain shape pretty side down on your work surface. Spread glue evenly onto the back of one side only, avoiding the center connector shape.
Fold over the top half of the keychain onto the bottom half. Carefully line up the front and back edges and press together. The edges will not stick together right now which is normal.
The next important step will make sure we get a flat keychain with an almost seamless edge.
PRO TIP: Place the glued keychain under something heavy like a book for several hours to let the glue dry well.
After several hours, remove you keychain from the book and examine the glued edges. If there are any open areas, use a glue with a precision tip like Bearly Art Glue to seal up the edges.
Next, to attach an optional faux suede tassel, use flat nose jewelry making pliers to open a 10mm jump ring.
Connect the jump ring to the tassel loop and then attach it to the keyring. Close the jump ring securely.
That’s it! Your Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain is ready to attach to your keys or hang on a backpack!
I hope you’ll enjoy creating different colors of this Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain with your Cricut. Let me know in the comments which popsicle you want to make first – Summer, Patriotic, or Watermelon.
Will you make this project?
I would love to see what you have created! Please join my free jewelry making & crafting Facebook group and share your creations with me and all of my crafting friends!
For Printable Instructions, click the image below!
Cricut Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychains
Materials
- See blog post for materials & links.
Tools
- See blog post for tools & links.
Instructions
- Download and unzip the keychains SVG folder. Upload the SVG files to Cricut Design Space.
- It isn't necessary to resize the keychain SVGs unless you are using the Cricut Joy. (For the Joy, use the sizing arrows to make the keychain shapes smaller until it fits on the Joy sized mat.)
- Click the MAKE IT button.
- When Design Space asks how you will load the materials for this project, select ON MAT.
- In the mat preview screens, click on every mat and toggle the mirror button to ON. (This is for when you are cutting faux leather and heat transfer vinyl for the project. If you are using faux leather and permanent vinyl instead, only mirror the faux leather mat.)
- Now return to each mat and drag the shapes apart from the edges and each other slightly. Make a note of what size material you'll need to cut to place on the mat and cut the shape completely.
- When you've done this for each mat, click back on the faux leather mat. Click CONTINUE.
- I like to cut the faux leather mat first. Choose Faux Leather (Paper Thin) as the material setting. If you don't have this setting selected, click "Browse All Materials" and search for it. (On the Explore Air 2, turn your dial to Custom so you can see the Faux Leather material choice.) Then choose "more" from the Pressure drop down menu.
- Trim a piece of faux leather to the size you noted in the mat preview screen. Place it "pretty" side down on a sticky purple strong grip mat. Tape the faux leather down on all sides with blue painter's tape.
- Load the mat into the Cricut and press the C button to begin the cut. When the cut is complete, BEFORE unloading the mat, use a sharp object like a weeding tool to lift up the corner of a cut to see if it went all the way through. If it did, unload the mat. If not, repeat the cut by pressing the C button again. On a Joy, you'll repeat the cut by clicking on "Rerun" on the screen in Design Space.
- Remove the cut shapes from the mat. Trim away any fuzz with small sharp scissors. Color the edges of the faux leather if desired with a color coordinated Sharpie marker.
- Return to Design Space and cut any vinyl mats using a green standard grip cutting mat. Place heat transfer vinyl shiny side down. I use the Vinyl setting or the Washi Sheet setting with "default" pressure for regular heat transfer vinyl. I use the Glitter Vinyl setting with "default" pressure for glitter heat transfer vinyl and I repeat the cut once if the glitter is thick (Siser brand). For permanent vinyl, I use the Vinyl setting with "default" pressure (make sure mats are NOT mirrored).
- Weed away the excess vinyl and cut the vinyl shapes apart.
- Using a Cricut EasyPress Mini set on the "low" setting or an EasyPress set to 265 degrees, press the heat transfer vinyl layers onto the faux leather van shapes one at a time. Refer to the Layers Guide in the tutorial for the pressing order. Place the first vinyl layer onto the faux leather and cover with a cover sheet - Teflon sheet, butcher paper or parchment paper. Then press for 5-10 seconds. Remove the cover sheet and try to peel away the clear vinyl carrier sheet. If the vinyl lifts up, replace the clear carrier sheet and cover sheet and press again for 5-7 seconds.
- Repeat with the rest of the vinyl layers.
- Place the pressed faux leather keychain under something like book or your heat pressing pad for a minute or so after pressing to allow the keychain to cool flat.
- Thread a 1.25" key ring onto the middle section of the larger connected faux leather keychain shape.
- Using fabric glue, carefully apply glue all over the back of just one of the connected keychain shapes, being careful to avoid getting glue on the center connecter shape.
- Fold the connected keychain shape over so the front and back shapes are touching and the edges line up neatly.
- Place the glued bottom keychain layer under something heavy like a book to dry for several hours.
- To attach an optional tassel, use a 10mm jump ring and flat nose pliers to connect the tassel to the key ring.
Recommended Products
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Until next time… and happy creating!
Answers to your questions about making Summer Popsicle Faux Leather Keychain with a Cricut
Q: How do I get the SVG templates for this project?
A: The SVG templates for this project are in my SVG shop here. They are available with a Personal Use and Small Business Commercial Use option.
Q: Can I get all the Summer Keychain Event SVG templates at once?
A: You can purchase all the Cricut Summer Keychain Event SVGs (17 in total) as a Instant Access Bundle in my shop here.
Q: What Cricut is best for cutting faux leather?
A: The good news is there is no “best” Cricut for cutting faux leather. You can cut faux leather with any of the five current Cricut machines – the Cricut Maker, the Cricut Maker 3, the Cricut Explore Air 2, the Cricut Explore 3, and even the Cricut Joy. That’s because you can cut faux leather with a Cricut using the standard Fine Point Blade that comes with each of these machines.
Q: What setting on Cricut do I need to cut faux leather?
A: I use the Faux Leather (Paper Thin) setting with “More” pressure to cut faux leather with any of the five current Cricut machines. I use the standard Fine Point Blade and repeat the cut as needed before unloading the mat. For more of my best Tips, Tricks, and secrets to cutting faux leather with a Cricut, check out my blog post here.
If you loved this Cricut faux leather keychain project, you’ll love these projects too:
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These are gonna be so fun to make
The clown fish and this one are 2 of the ones I like the most. Thank you for sharing.
I like the star and stipes the best and thank you so much!
This reminds me of my childhood summers chasing after the ice cream truck 🥰
Love the cute watermelon popsicle!!! Such a cute fun summertime keychain!
so refreshing, good enough to eat!
These popsicle keychains are totally cool and oh so adorable! Thank you for sharing them with us. 💕
Super Cute I Love It! Thanks Amy…
Super cute!
I love all three of these designs! Thank you for making these projects perfect for newbies like me. I feel confident that I can make all of the keychains in this series.
Wow – three choices. Cute for back pack or luggage too. You’re so creative & fun teacher. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
My grandson loves popsicles…so cute
My Gdaughter is going to love this one too!
These are adorable. I am going to see if you did them as earrings because that would be great for my grand daughter.
Amy, you are so talented… I love these cute popsicle keychains and can’t wait to make them! Thank you!
So many options running through my head for all the yummy ice cream colors. Thanks Amy!!
Love this cute summer design, cant decide what colors to use. But will definitely make several.
Love these!!!!
Amy you make everything soound so easy Your directions are so clear Thank you
Love them!! Wicked cute!!!
I am excited to try all three of these!
Love the sparkle!
Thea projects have be awesome. This is a great someone🫶
Your talent never ceases to amaze me!
Such fun designs! Your layering guide is super helpful for this one because the order isn’t intuitive.
Not one, not two, but three popsicles?!? You are sweeter than these popsicles! Thanks for sharing Amy! Can’t wait to make these lickety-split!
Once again, another super cute idea for keychains. Way to go Amy!!
Super cute ! Another great idea and tutorial
Thank you !!
These are too cute. I have really enjoyed this event. Thank you Amy, you have taught me new things with your videos.
These are cute and versatile. Thanks for showing variations.
They are all adorable
Thank you Amy for all the amazing designs! I love all 3 Popsicles, although I’m leaning toward the watermelon 🍉
Great tutorial and keychain project!
Wow! Love these! Thanks!
Popsicles and Summer go together! Love them.
These are fantastic!
I can’t wait to make the patriot popsicle to give out at my campground.
I love the way you can come up with so many different designs. Thank you for all you do. 🙂
Another Winner!!
I have loved all of the keychain files you have shared. I think my favorite is the Watermelon. I think you should make a faux leather cover for your ‘heavy book’ – since it looks like it is your favorite!
Love These Popsicles!! You did an Awesome Job!! Thanks Amy for sharing with us!! 🙂
There are so many different ways to make these. Fun!!
I can’t wait to try most of these. You are very talented and kind to share your wonderful designs.
So darn cute, thanks, Amy!
Ok, could you come up with anything better? I know the answer to that, just have to wait and see 😉 These are truly amazing and cant wait to see what tomorrow has to bring!
These are super cute!
Amy, the popsicle keychains are adorable and perfect for summer! Thanks for sharing your talents and expertise with us.
I love this design! I can’t wait to make these!
Thank you Amy, another great, fun design!
Love all three of the popsicle keychains!
The color combos on this one are endless!
I can’t wait to make all the wonderful keychain designs you’ve shared with us during this event. I love your designs, the easy to follow tutorials and the option to use any Cricut cutting machine and heat press!
These are adorable
Cool patterns. Love the watermelon! Thank you for sharing.
cute
Thank you so much for a cut and fun project. I’m so happy that you created one like the watermellon, my favorite summer fruit.
These are adorable. I am thinking one could shrink them in DS and make earrings…
These popsicle keychains are incredibly cute. I can’t wait to make a few for myself and friends.
These are adorable TFS
I’m so excited about making these popsicle keychains and I like all three!
Another great keychain
Too cute thank you
Thank you for the ideas. The perfect summer treat.
Oh Help I can’t decide which one to make first. Thank you for all these keychains
Loved all 3 popcicle keychains , Can’t choose a favorite. Thanks
Very cute! I love these!
OMG! These keychains are beautiful. The color choice are on point! I love all of them it’s hard to choose. Can’t wait to make these. Thank you for your awesome tutorials.
I like your popsicle key changes.
Cute popsicle keychain. Really excited to make this one.
Darling design and wonderful instructions. I love that you offer the video as well as printed and printable instructions. Not on Facebook so by offering all these options on your web site makes it easy for me to enjoy.
LOVE these! Wanted to thank you for all the pro tips along the way, I am very new to these projects and need all the advice I can get!
I need to find more supplies!
will try these, thanks for all you are sharing with us.
I love the patriotic and the watermelon keychain. Super cute.
I think the watermelon in my favorite!
these are so cute. Thanks.
Thank you for putting all these videos together Amy! I’m kinda sad that tomorrow is the last day but will definitely be joining again, should you decide to do this in the future.
I think I like the watermelon and patriotic versions equally. I love making all of your keychains. They are so much fun to do!
OMG they just keep getting cuter. I can’t wait to make some of these… Thanks Amy
These are really cute
These will make the perfect part favor for the “girls” summer get together.
These are adorable and perfect for this time of year!
Another great tutorial !
I like all of these, especially the pink one.
I. Love. Them!
Such a cute project! Thanks for sharing!
These are so cute! Everyone’s favorite for those hot days!
I think I have to vote the watermelon! They are all really cute.
So cute. Thank for another awesome video.
Sweet design. I have some wood print faux leather which I could use as the base, then do the popsicle on top of that.
So cute and easy!
These just scream summer, I love them!
Now these are going to be fun! My granddaughters will love them!
Thank you so much for these fun Keychains!!! They are super cute and most def made for summer!!😉!! I didn’t have a chance to make these yet but I plan to in a couple hours. Can’t wait to make them!! Super excited!! Thank you so much Amy!!🩷💜
Awesome! I love the pink keychain.
Love it! Thanks for sharing Amy!
Another adorable svg for a keychain or to use for other crafts too. Love your ideas. Thanks!!
Love your designs. You make it easy to understand.
I’m thinking I can get very creative with color combos for these.
Thank you for these sweet Summer Popsicle designs! I love how there are several variations to choose from. These would also look great as earrings. Thanks for the great tutorial, as well!!
These are all so cute and fun.
I love all three popsicles by my most favorite one is the Patriotic one.
Love the popsicle keychains and the colors you used are great. Thanks for this project – it’s going to be fun making them.
They are all beautiful! I will probably make all three of these!!
Great little key chain. Love the watermelon one.
Thanks so much for all these adorable keychains!
I had to POP over to see what SWEET designs Amy had for us today!! What a REFRESHING and COOL design!!
these popcicle keychains are so cute ,cant wait to make them .
Very cute. I have scraps of faux leather and these small projects are a great way to use them up, so they don’t go to waste.
Super cute popsicle keychains, perfect for summer, can’t wait to make these. Thank you, this has been great.
I am loving these beautiful keychains. Thank you Amy.
These are so cute! My favorite so far!
I have really enjoyed all these keychains every one is so cute
The pink flamingo is so cute.
Merci de partager ses beaux projets
Summertime fun!
Love the cute designs. Can’t wait to make some of these.
These are just the cutest! The only reason why I like a hot summer day. 🙂
Love the popsicles. Excuse to get more colors of faux leather and vinyl. lol
Those popsicles are great, especially with the hot temperatures over here!
love them <3
Now I have to go and buy more faux leather 😀
These popsicles are so cute and you make it look so doable! Thank you for this “Summer Fun” with 12 great keychains to make.
Cute! I want to make them in different colors for my kids.❤️
Came for the pink popsicle, stayed for the fruit and patriotic ones! These are so much fun!
SO cute for summer!!
I can’t wait to try these popsicle key chains! I have someone in mind for each of them.
Thank you for sharing your time and talents!
love the Popsicles. Thank you so much for the SVG’s
These are just the cutest! I love the variety of colors that come to mind instantly once I see these designs! Thank you for sharing!
These are so cute! Wish I’d grabbed the SVG in time!
Love watermelon. Ive enjoyed the event and look forward to trying to make my own.
So cute! Thanks!!!
All three designs are adorable but my favorite is the Patriotic one. Thank you, Amy.
They are so cute. Thank you.
Ah popsicles and love the glitter accents!
I really like the layers of these keychains especially with the glitter and how they pop. Makes me want to look at some of the other ones we’ve done over the past days and add some glitter!
Absolutely sweet designs
I think these popsicles will be a hit with kids!
I can’t wait to start these!
The possibilities are endless with these cut summer treats!
Thank you for such wonderful detailed directions! I can’t wait to make these and put them on my pool towel bag!
The popcicle keychains are adorable. You are a great teacher. I have learned so much from you over thn e last 12 days. I will definitely be watching your blog and your You Tube channel . I have had my Cricut for 2 years, but have only made a few cards because I was so intimidated to use it. Now I feel like I can actually use it to make gifts for my friends and to maybe start a craft business. Thank you!
Can’t wait to make these
All of these are so cute can’t wait to make them. Just wish I didn’t miss the first couple days downloads!
the combination of the htv on white really makes the colors pop
Very cute!
love this popsicles keychain, I have a surprise for you when I have finished them.