Pop Can Key Chain

First of all, do you call it soda, or pop? 

I grew up in Oregon, and always called it pop.  Now I live in New England, and have been forced to say soda, because if I say pop, no one knows what the heck I am talking about.  My children got the best of both worlds I guess, and call it Soda Pop.  Ha. 

Anyways, I originally saw this post over at a blog called This is the Year...and immediately thought of all the dedicated soda pop drinkers in my life.  For some reason, those in my extended family are partial to Diet Coke - in a big way.  But I didn't necessarily want to make jewelry - so I decided to make keychains!

I have been hearing about this new product from Mod Podge called Dimensional Magic - and decided I would like to try it out for this project.  So far so good!

So, I drove over to the local grocery store to pick up some Diet Coke.  I ended up getting the mini cans, because they seemed to have more usable Diet Coke icons on them.  Believe it or not, they were actually more expensive!  But only by a little bit :)

Felt a little funny to come home and pour the soda pop down the drain just so I could use the container.  lol.  Pretty ironic.  Too bad I couldn't magic all the empty cans from my family members into my crafty hands.  Aw well. 

Once the can was clean, I took off the top with the help of my can opener.  I think it goes without saying - but I will say it anyway - BE CAREFUL when cutting up a pop can.  The edges can be sharp! 

Also, be careful not to bend or crease the can in the spots you want to use it.  It does show through, and for some people (yes me), that can be annoying. 

 Here is a picture of my disassembled can...

I made a variety of hearts and circles in a Word document on the computer, and and printed and cut them out.  After decided which sizes I liked best for which sections, I used the shapes to trace onto the can.  A ball point pen worked fine.  I left just enough of a line to cut by - and not so much that it ruined the can if I didn't cut exactly on the line. 

Next came the dimensional magic part....and the hole punching part.  And believe it or not, this took some trial and error.  Mostly error :)  at first.  I took a tiny nail, and punched a hole in the top of my shapes.  This hole would eventually be used to hold a jump ring that I could hang from a key chain. 
At first I tried to push the nail through with my fingers - but I bent the pop can - which looked horrible. 
So then, I set the shapes on a cardboard box, and used a hammer to puncture the top of each shape with the nail - and no crease.  Much better!

Then,  I applied the first coat of dimensional magic, and let it dry the allotted time.  (Best to have a needle or pin handy, in case there are air bubbles in the dimensional magic when you apply it.  You will want to pop those so they don't dry onto the surface that way). 
Looked good, but I wanted it to be thicker - more bubbly.  I applied 3 coats - and it looked SO GREAT!  But, my hole had filled in, so I needed to punch it again.  Good and Bad.  Some worked, but one cracked the dimensional magic and it all popped right off the pop can (see below).

So, ultimately, this is the way that worked for me:
I hammered in a hole, did just 1 coat of dimensional magic before hammering the hole again if needed, adding my jump ring, and then applied the additional 2 coats of dimensional magic. 
On one I added the jump ring before applying any coats of dimensional magic, and this worked as well. 
I also did one coat on the back side of the shape for aesthetics and continuity. 

UPDATE: One of you clever readers suggested that, while applying the Dimensional Magic and letting it dry, you should lay in on a cookie cooling rack, so that the jump rings can go through the slats and the pop can can still lay flat.  Brilliant - thank you!

 Then, I added the shapes to an old key chain that I had - and it looked so adorable!!

But when I picked it up..... it obviously swung around, and sometimes you could only see the blank tin can heart on the back.  Boo.  So, I decided to make another. 

This time I cut 2 sets of each shape, and glued them together using Amazing Goop, so that you could see a logo on BOTH SIDES of the shape!  I punched a hole while the glue was wet, and then set them under a bunch of books to keep them pressed together while they dried.

The rest of the process was the same, except that this time I did 3 coats of dimensional magic on both sides of each shape.

I also included the top tab in my keychain just for fun.  The keychain came from the hardware store for a couple of bucks.  The jump rings I purchased at the craft store. 

Now, I have an AWESOME key chain, which I was thinking would look adorable hanging from the handle of my mom's purse, along with a couple of other bling-y key chains she has hanging there.  Yes, she is one of those Diet Coke crazy drinkers :)

Fun, inexpensive project.  It doesn't take a whole lot of time...you just have to have patience while the dimensional magic dries.  Have fun!

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