Did you happen to catch our hand painted keychains project recently? We decided to use the same techniques to create a Father’s Day spin on the concept! If you have a dad who loves fishing, this fishing bobber keychain would be a wonderful and easy DIY gift for the occasion. Because this project is so simple, it is also a great homemade gift idea for younger kids.

Tools

• Detail Scissors 
• Embroidery Needles
• Needle Threader (optional)

Materials

• Lia Griffith’s Wool Blend Felt — slate grey and marble grey
• Embroidery Floss — DMC Black
• Wooden Bead
• Acrylic craft paint
• Leather cording
• Keychain ring

Begin by painting your wooden beads with red and white acrylic craft paint. First paint the entire bead white and allow it to dry. Wrap painter’s tape around one end of the bead to create a straight line moving around the center of the bed horizontally. Paint the bottom half of the bead red, then paint another, smaller bead completely red. You should be able to find raw wooden beads at your local craft store. Be sure that they are untreated or uncoated! The paint will not apply smoothly on pre-coated beads. While your painted beads are drying, print the PDF template below and use the template as a guide for cutting your felt. We made our fishing bobber keychain set with a slate grey fish and a marble grey fish, but feel free to use any color of felt that you prefer. Use black embroidery floss to add little eyes to the fish. Next, cut your leather cording. I would recommend using 10-12 inches of cording for your keychain. Place the cording through a keychain ring, fold the cording in half, and thread the beads through the cording with the solid red bead closest to the keychain ring. Tie a knot below the beads to secure them. Now use a complementary color of embroidery floss to sew your fish together with a running stitch. Leave some space at the mouth of the fish to insert the leather cording. Follow the step-by-step photo tutorial below as a visual guide for assembling your fishing bobber keychain.

Celebrate Dad with something thoughtful and handmade. That is always how we did gifts in my family! Browse all of our Father’s Day projects, and stay tuned for plenty more projects to come. Feel free to write in with gift or craft suggestions to hello@liagriffith.com so that we can make some of the projects you’ve been dreaming of! See you soon ~ Lia