Beginner Friendly DIY Acrylic Keychain with xTool M1 Ultra (Free Download!)

I love a quick craft project that looks professional but doesn’t take hours of trial and error to figure out. That’s why this DIY keychain mixing acrylic and vinyl is one of my new favorites.

It’s beginner friendly, fun to make and uses both the laser and blade functions on the M1 Ultra so you get to use two functions of the machine with one project.

The base is laser cut from a black acrylic and for the lettering is a shiny, color shifting iridescent vinyl. The black base really makes the vinyl pop.

How to Make an Acrylic and Vinyl Keychain with the xTool M1 Ultra

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Materials & Tools Required

• xTool M1 Ultra
• Black acrylic (I used 1/8″ thick)
• Iridescent adhesive vinyl
• Keychain ring
• Transfer tape
• Weeding tools

Free Design File

To get this free design file just enter your name and email address into the form below and we’ll send it to your inbox!

When you upload this file into Creative Space it will already be sized properly so you shouldn’t need adjustments to that. The SVG file will have two separate items to cut. The first is the purple shape that will be cut on the Acrylic using the laser function. The blue text will be cut out of vinyl using the small blade.

Step 1 – Cut the Acrylic Base

Load your black acrylic into the M1 Ultra and let the laser do its thing. I used the recommended material cut settings from xTool.

The file is already sized so you can get straight to cutting.

If there is a protective film on the vinyl, peel that off after you cut out the shape. I used the recommended material cut settings from xTool.

My original intent for this project was to Cut the outline and then engrave the text and fill it with paint. Let me tell you, that is NOT beginner friendly.

It took me several tries to get the depth of the engraving correct. I also realized that the paint I had wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t vibrant and frankly looked terrible.

Below you can see a void from the first blank that I cut out of the black acrylic. I didn’t engrave the text deep enough to even go through the protective film so I ended up using that piece for the backing with the vinyl. The second cut at the bottom was when I got the engraving depth right but again, the paint looked bad. I’ll have to keep testing out paints and application process to figure that out.

Step 2 – Cut the Vinyl

Switch to the blade cutting function with the the small blade and cut the “Take it Easy” design from your vinyl. I used the recommended material cut settings from xTool. Weed your design and prep it with transfer tape.

Step 3 – Apply the Vinyl to the Acrylic

Line up the words on your acrylic base and press them into place.

Step 4 – Add Hardware

All that’s left to do is attach a key ring and your new DIY key chain is ready to use!

I can’t get over how cool the vinyl is that I used. It completely changes color depending on what angle the keychain is held.

This was such a fun and simple project. It’s always even more rewarding when I create something that I use on a regular basis.

Whether your brand new to the M1 Ultra or a seasoned veteran, I hope you enjoy making this as much as I did!

More M1 Ultra Projects!

If you’re looking for more beginner friendly projects to test out the M1 Ultra functions here are a few great options.

• 90’s Magnets – Laser & Printer
• Customize a Store Bought Candle – Laser & Printer
• Custom Stickers – Printer & Blade