You Mean the World to Me Keychain

Tell someone how much they mean the world do you with this beautiful, easy-to-make acrylic keychain!

The keychain can be made with other materials as well, but for this project I am using clear 1/4″ cast acrylic.For this instance, I am using the setting for Proofgrade Thick Clear Acrylic, as it is nearly the same as my non-Proofgrade 1/4″ clear acrylic.

REMINDER: TEST, MASK (if needed) & DON’T FORGET TO VENT & SET FOCUS HEIGHT

Let’s Make This Keychain!

First, download the free keychain design.

Place your material into the Glowforge and upload the design, then move the design to the location where you want to cut the board.
Set your material to the appropriate setting.

Materials and Supplies Needed:

1/4″ cast acrylic sheet (approximately 3″x3″ or larger)
masking (if acrylic is not already masked)
Keyring 1″ diameter (or other of your choice)
Isopropyl alcohol (optional)
Acrylic paint, color of your choice, and a small paint brush (optional)

Tools:

Glowforge, laptop or other device compatible with Glowforge
weeding tool (optional)
A few baby wipes or damp paper towel
Small microfiber cloth or towel
calipers to check the exact height of your material (or use “auto” setting)

In the left bar, set the words to “Engrave.”
Enter the settings as follows:

the outline of the keychain to “Cut.”
the keyring hole to “Cut.”
the outline of the world design in “Score.”

Double-check to make sure that your design is not grayed out, which
would indicate it is out of print area and needs to be moved.
Now, press the “Print” button at the top right of the dashboard.
The computer will take a minute and then when it’s ready, the
Glowforge button will begin to flash.
Press the flashing button!

Once the print is complete, remove keychain from the Glowforge.

If you do not want to paint the design, skip to step 16.

Apply paint with small paint brush. Be sure to get the paint down into the small grooves of the scored and engraved parts of the design.
Wipe off excess paint.
Carefully remove masking with weeding tool or other method of your choice.
Clean the keychain. In my experience, the best results come from using a microfiber cloth. (Please note that you can use other towels or cloths to clean the keychain, but the acrylic paint and sometimes the adhesive from the masking can be hard to remove at times. I found the microfiber cloth to be the easiest to use.)

Lastly, place the keyring on the keychain.

I hope you love this You Mean the World to Me Keychain! I would love to see yours! If you have any questions, contact me at ally@forgingmyway.com or comment below.

What type of projects would you like to see in the future?

Ally