Paperclip Ice Skate Key chain (DIY)

Its Winter Olympics time!  Unfortunately, most of us can't just hop on a plane and head to Russia - and maybe that's for the best.

  They seem to be having some issues...like this one you may have heard about:

(picture found on Facebook, no source)

No thank you to shared bathrooms, yellow water, and spray painted grass, but we do have to give them credit for trying, right?  Imagine what a visit to Russia would be like before all of the country's Olympic prep work?  Not that its all sunshine and rainbows here in the United States, THIS was the temp last week before I left for work:

Not the wind chill or low for the day - the actual temperature outside.  "Oh, you're from Michigan,"  my coworkers would casually say, "You must be used to this."  Not at all.  

FYI: Michigan is not located at the North Pole. 

Anyway, lets celebrate the Winter Olympics (or just celebrate winter...or celebrate that winter is at least half over) with this key chain DIY, featuring a tiny ice skate made from a paper clip.  As a child (a very bored child without TV), I made paper clip skates for my Barbie dolls, only my skates were made of paper and a lot of scotch tape.  This version is much more attractive.

You will need:

- paper clip

- felt

- needle and thread

- key ring and jump ring

- embroidery thread

First, you will need a piece of felt to form the 'boot' of your skate that looks like this.  I made this pattern to help you out.  The dotted line should be just a teeny bit shorter than your paper clip.  My paper clip is 1.9" long, so the dotted line area of my felt piece is 1.75" wide.  Use the pattern as a guide and adjust as you need to for your paper clip.

Slide the felt piece into your clip as shown.  It should look similar to a tiny glider.  Fold the felt to create the boot shape.

Sew the edges along the back and front closed, but leave the top (where a Barbie doll would slide her foot into) open.

Stuff cotton into the opening. I used a mechanical pencil to get the job done.  When the skate is fluffy and full of cotton, sew up the opening.

Connect the key ring and jump ring as shown.

*Note - you don't really need a jump ring; the key ring can be sewn directly to the felt skate, but the thread makes it difficult to add or remove keys.*

Attach the jump ring to the corner of your skate with several stitches (just like the Monogram Key Chain).

For the tied laces, cut a six inch section of embroidery thread and poke the needle through the front of the skate.  Gently pull the thread off the needle, leaving it attached to the skate. It should look like untied laces.

Tie the laces into the tightest bow you possibly can (this make take a few tries), then trim the excess thread.

To keep the bow securely tied, you may want to ad a drop of superglue to the center.

Consider making two and giving one to a friend - like a set of best friend necklaces.  Because skates come in a pair - get it? 

Or make two and leave the top open for a Barbie doll to practice her Olympic figure skating.  Barbie probably wouldn't mind Russia; she's accustomed to sharing small spaces with other Barbie dolls.