Key Chain Scrapbook Tutorial...

I take lots of pictures and I like to find creative ways to use them. This key chain didn't quite turn out the first time, but I like the finished project.  

I started with wood pieces that I found at a craft store.  There were actually about 20 pieces in the set and I chose two different sizes of square and the star.  I also got a key ring sized, split ring at the craft store.

I stacked the wood pieces and clamped them together before drilling, so that the holes would line up.  I also compared the drill bit to the split ring to make sure the holes were large enough.  Finally, because the wood pieces are so thin (1/16"), I made sure to drill the holes far enough away from the edge to keep the wood from splitting.

Next, I went to the computer and printed off the pictures I wanted to use...I made sure they were cropped to the right size for my wood pieces.

I treated each wood piece as a tiny scrapbook page...finding paper, stickers, embellishments and a photo or quote for each one. 

Once the pages were all assembled, I used a stylus to locate the hole in each wood piece and punch through the paper.  This would have been a lot easier {and looked neater}  if I had used a hole punch on the paper before affixing it to the wood piece.  {learn from my mistakes...punch holes in the pictures & paper before adhering them to the wood!}

Finally, I threaded all the wood pages onto the split ring to create my key chain...

...it didn't really work!  Since I hadn't punched a hole through my paper/pictures before adhering them to the wood, adhesive was sticking on the ring.  Also, since the holes were drilled lower on the wood squares the pieces didn't flip around the ring like I hoped they would.  (You may also notice the star is gone...the hole in the wood split while I was twisting it onto the ring...)

I happened to be helping my son clean out his desk while I was pondering a solution to my key chain...and I found this ball & link chain that he didn't want.

Strong wire cutters (thanks Kyle!) helped remove the wood pages from the ring without going through the spiral again.  {Twisting them through the ring had mangled some of the paper.}  I removed all the wood pages and...

...reassembled them on the chain.  I used the wire cutters to cut the chain to size and added a couple of charms that hadn't fit on the split ring.

I don't think I'll be carrying my keys on this particular key chain, but I really like the way it turned out.  It's also a fun, fast way to showcase a few current pictures.

What crafts are you working on?  What do you do with all the pictures you take?