When I received the new Cricut Maker, leather was one of the materials I was most excited about using. There’s something so cool about making a craft with leather at home. It’s just one of those materials that is sturdy and feels like a real store bought item when you’re finished. Today I am going to show you how to make keychains using your Cricut. These DIY monogram keychains would make great bridesmaids gifts. Everyone needs a keychain, making this personalized gift both thoughtful and useful! Read on below to learn how to make keychains for your bridesmaids.
Supplies You Will Need:
Cricut Maker
Strong Grip Mat
Camel Leather
Jump Rings
Leather Glue
To make these keychains you will need to first purchase a monogram font. This monogram font from etsy is a great option. Rather than a traditional writing font, each letter is an individual svg file. To use, simply upload the monogram font to Design Space and arrange the letters to create your monograms. (I promise this sounds harder than it is.) Once you have your monograms ready use the shape tool to draw a rectangle connecting each letter. (seen below in orange) 
Next create a copy of your monogram and flip it vertically. Then use the shape tool to create a rectangle connecting the two monograms. Weld all of this together. 
Once your monograms are created it is time to get cutting! I highly suggest making a test cut on cardstock first to make sure your monograms are perfect. Once you are ready to cut leather with your Cricut Maker follow the steps below for success!
How To Cut Leather With Cricut Maker
There are a few simple steps you need to follow for success cutting leather with your Cricut Maker.
- Make sure to use the purple strong grip mat whenever cutting real leather.
- Move the white Cricut wheels off to the right side. The leather is thick and these could create a dent in your fabric.
- Cut your leather down so it is only 11″ wide. Remember how we moved our wheels over? Cutting your leather down allows space for the Cricut to seamlessly roll under the wheels we’ve moved.
- Select the pressure of your blade based on the thickness of your leather. Design Space gives you the option of default, more, or less pressure. I found the most success with more pressure for real leather.
- Real leather can be cut with the fine point blade (that comes with your machine) but I highly suggest using the deep point blade.
Once you have successfully cut your monogram keychains with your Cricut machine remove them from the grip mat.
Feed your DIY monogram keychain through a jump ring. Make sure to keep the soft side on top.
Use a thin paint brush to apply leather glue to one side of your leather keychain. Align your monograms so the two halves meet. Place your keychain under a book or heavy object for two hours to set.
One the glue has dried your monogram keychains are finished and ready to be gifted! 
Photography + Styling: Gillian Ellis | Cricut Maker | Strong Grip Mat | Camel Leather | Jump Rings | Leather Glue | Monogram Font
This is super cute!!!!
Can this be done with the cricut explorer air 2? Using a different blade perhaps??
Hi Renee! I would not recommend making this on the Explore Air 2 simply because there are small edges for the monogram letters and I’m not sure the Explore would be able to cut them as finely.
Yes, it can absolutely be done! I have an Air 2 as well.
I have read it can be done but with which blade can you do it?
I use a deep cut blade! I use the faux leather from hobby lobby!
I did try this twice and it did not work out for me but I know it was my fault and I believe it was because I turned the mirror feature on? Is that where I went wrong? I highly recommend doing what she suggested and testing it out on card stock because that’s where I went wrong . But she explained this project very easily and simple I just didn’t follow the directions and made it more complicated than it was. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing tutorial . This has been one of the reasons I even purchased the Maker was to do this project and you are the one and only blogger that I’ve found that has given a tutorial on this project. So please know how grateful I truly am .
Hi Nicole, Thanks for reaching out! You do not need to turn the mirror feature on unless you have flipped the fabric. If you follow each step exactly as written it should work.
Love this! But what size do you make everything?
Wondering this same thing. How do you decide what size to make it before cutting ?
Hi Brittany, if you look through my images you can see the size I used on my Cricut mat. I highly suggest printing your design on paper or cardstock first to determine the size you would like. I printed mine slightly large and everyone has a difference preference!
Hi! I was just wondering which blade you used for this?
Thanks!
Hi Avery, I used the regular blade but it would probably work better with the deep cut. Honestly I forgot to change the blade before I started.
Where can I find the svg? I looked on Etsy but it said it wasn’t available.
Hi Lisa,
It appears that font is unavailable but if you search etsy for circle monogram font there are lots of similar designs.
This was a great idea. I just made these for my coworkers for Christmas using faux leather. They turned out great.
Thank you so much for sharing Natasha! I’m so glad you enjoyed this DIY.