Thursday, August 13, 2009

DIY Hotel Room Key Jewelry

 

I have another quick, easy, and cheap thrifty DIY transformation this week.

You may remember my sister and I made a quick shopping trip to Dallas a couple weeks ago.  Upon leaving the hotel, my sister grabbed the plastic hotel key cards and said “I’m keeping these!” I thought they would be a pretty cute souvenir.

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The more I looked at them, the more I thought we should do something with them….I suddenly thought they would make cute earrings! Since this would be my first attempt at making any sort of jewelry, we had to make a supply run.  We picked up some jump rings and ear wires like these:

                         

We cut the cards into various small shapes. I then used a leather punch (because it was handy and I didn’t feel like messing with the drill) to make holes in the top of the shapes. We then attached the jump rings and ear wires with needle nose pliers.  Voila!  Custom jewelry!

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Here’s my beautiful sis modeling one set:

IMG_2351 More photos of our completed designs:IMG_2353

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IMG_2382Out of the two cards, I think we ended up making at least four sets of earrings and three pendants. Now she has a unique, wearable souvenir!  The way they are printing such cool designs and photos on hotel key cards, gift cards, and credit cards these days, the possibilities are endless! 

You could take a little more time and make a bracelet like this one on Scavenging:

And check out these cute pieces for sale on Etsy (click on the photos to go to the listing):

Now you’ll think twice about leaving your hotel key behind or letting the cashier keep your redeemed gift cards!  I’m sure we all have a stash of used gift cards or expired credit cards taking up space in a drawer.  Save them from the landfill or recycle bin and turn them into wearable art!

29 comments:

Pam @ This Humble House said...

Wow! Those are really cute! I love ideas like these - thanks for sharing!

Cindy at PlantSomeRoots said...

Christy,

As always...another cute & clever idea!

Grits414 said...

Those are really cute! I would love that pendant to have an initial on it! So adorable!

DeeDee said...

Wow..they are all great ideas..thanks for sharing this..my granddaughter will love them

Funky Frog Designs said...

Super cute idea! Thanks for sharing.

Jenni said...

Fun, fun! I would never have thought of such a thing. Great way to memorialize those CC's after they're cut up in an effort to get out of debt! LOL!

marty39 said...

What a fun project, and such cute jewelry. Hugs, Marty

3XMom said...

wow! Awesome ideas! Thanks!!!

The DIY Show Off said...

So cute and fun! You're so creative! :)
Roeshel

Gwen said...

I have a stash of hotel keys just like those taking up space in my "memories" file. This is a great idea for them.

You are so smart!

Gina said...

Oh my goodness! I love this! What a great idea-I'll never look at old cards the same!

Frugal Fine Living said...

I love these! You are so creative!

Jane

Aimee said...

How cute are those??? Very creative!

If you get a chance, stop by my Blog for a visit and say hi! I put up a new post today of my pillow featured in Romantic Homes magazine.

Leigh of Bloggeritaville said...

WHat great colors! I love the long slim earrings. WOW! That is sooo clever and thrifty!You made some cute sets! Thanks for linking up today for Thrifty Thursday! I am so appreciative!
Leigh
Tales from Bloggeritaville
lbratina.blogspot.com

jennifer said...

Oh my gosh - that is adorable! The credit card bracelet is fabulous.

Gina @ The Shabby Chic Cottage said...

How clever and creative! I love using Etsy as inspiration -- works every time!

Thanks for playing!

Patti said...

How did you cut the shapes out so neatly? Did you use punches? Very clever

Keetha Broyles said...

You are just a creative little diva!!! I LOVE all of these!

Sandy and Joe/rhubarb reign said...

Great idea! Now you've got me thinking -- mentally rummaging through drawers to find plastic bits. Thanks for sharing the Etsy links as well. xo

Kammy said...

Super creative - love the charge card ones !
Kammy

sherri said...

These are great! A good reason to hold on to the charge cards!

Jennifer said...

Are you serious?! That is a fantastic idea!! You did a great job!

Kirby3131 said...

That's a clever idea!! Bravo! love all the etsy stuff you found as using cards, too - Amazing, I had no idea.

Ally0005 said...

Who knew, what a great idea!!

Ally

Becky said...

Trash to Treasure ... perfect! I have never seen such a colorful key card. What a clever way to reuse them. Great jewlery.

Anonymous said...

great - how did you cut the cards? i've seen it on some other blog, cut with a special tool (hole puncher). just scissors?
iris

Embellished Bayou said...

Yes, I just used regular scissors to cut out the shapes. You could use a drill to punch the hole or I just used my leather punch (like these: http://www.eleathersupply.com/punches.shtml).

Also, I cut the square shapes freehand, and traced a circle shape with a fine tip permanent marker using a tape dispenser as a template.

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Joan@anythinsggoeshere said...

How cute is that. Wow!

Melbourne Hotels said...

How did you get the idea of recycling those stuff? Great one though. They're so funky cute little stuffs. I love it.

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