Personalized Zipper Pull

Thanks to ImpressArt for sponsoring today’s post; all opinions are always my own!

It’s almost time for Little Crafter to say goodbye to summer and head back to school! We’ve been buying all the school supplies he’s going to need, and he’s also got a new backpack for this year because his old one was literally falling apart by June. Instead of getting another inexpensive character backpack like the one that didn’t hold up, this one is a good quality bag from STATE Bags and it’s got some really nice features like side pockets and an organizer on the inside. However, when you’re seven, it’s kind of disappointing not to have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Minions on the outside. To help make it a little more exciting for him, we made a fun personalized zipper pull to show off his personality a bit.

We used:
From ImpressArt:
– Soft Strike Pewter Small 3/8″ Cube
– Lollipop Uppercase Alphabet
– Basketball Design Stamp
– Metal Stamping Hammer
– Small Steel Block
– Small Split Key Ring

Other Supplies:
– Black Enamel Paint
– Jewelry Polishing Cloth/Rubbing Alcohol
– Leather
– Beads
– Scissors

Step 1: Stamp your cube!

Choose alphabet letters for your child’s initials and design stamps that represent some favorite things or hobbies. Then, place the cube on the stamping block and use your stamps and a metal hammer to stamp whatever you like on each of the four flat sides. I did LC’s initials on two of the sides and a basketball on the other two.

*If you’ve never done metal stamping before, you’ll want to check out this Intro to Stamping post. It will give you a full photo tutorial as well as a list of the basic things you need to get started.*

Step 2: Fill in the stamped images with black paint, then wipe off the excess with rubbing alcohol and/or a jewelry polishing cloth. This will help the letters and images to stand out.

Step 3: Tie a knot in your leather, then add beads and your cube.

We used Miracle Beads, which have a really fun look when the light hits them…they almost look like they glow! First, there’s a purple one because it matches the backpack and it happens to be Little Crafter’s favorite color, thanks to the Baltimore Ravens. Then we placed the cube on top of it and finished things off with a blue bead, his second favorite color.

Step 4: Wrap the leather around your key ring and tie tightly. Trim off the extra. You can add a drop of super glue if you like to make sure that the knot stays tied.

All that’s left to do is hang it from a zipper on the bag!

What do you think? I really like how it turned out and I think it adds a really fun, personal touch to Little Crafter’s backpack. Now he’s all ready for his first day, even though it’s not until September 8th! When do your kiddos head back to school?