This great little beaded deer keychain is a fun project for wildlife lovers, deer lovers, hunters and anyone who enjoys animal crafts. Made with a little cord and pony beads, its antlers, long legs and deer shape give it plenty of character. Choose natural deer colors like those shown, use your own color combination, or make it in school colors for a deer mascot.
The same pattern can even become a reindeer for Christmas — add a red bead for a nose and you've got Rudolph! Attach the finished deer to a key ring, backpack, hunting bag or zipper pull, or make one as a handmade gift for a deer hunter, outdoorsman or wildlife lover. It's also a great summer camp, classroom or group craft and can be made in quantity for school, club and group fundraisers.
Here is a fun idea for taking these easy to make characters to another level. Combine several Christmas pony bead characters into a handmade garland, holiday swag or ornament strand. Mix Santas with elves, reindeer, grench, Christmas trees and other holiday designs, then hang them from ribbon or cord, place them into greenery, or space them along a strand of Christmas lights. A beaded Christmas garland can drape across a mantel or doorway, decorate a wall or window, or wrap around a Christmas tree. It could even become a group project, with each person making a different character to add to the finished Christmas decoration.
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You will need one connector such as a 
Lanyard hook, or any type of 
Key Ring.
Next, you will need 2 1/2 yards of cord for your deer. There are lots of different types of cords you can use. We prefer a cord that is 1mm to 2mm thick because it is easier to work with when you are threading your cord back through the cords and helps your wildlife keychain critter keep it's shape better. Alternatively, you can use a thinner cord and weave a little wire or a pipe cleaner into your keychain critter to help it keep it's shape that way. Either way works just fine but you can experiment with it to see which method you prefer.
One good option is 
Monofilament Cord or 
2mm metallic cording. Other good choices would be jute or hemp cord, leather necklace cord, rattail cord, shoelaces, ribbon, paracord, or a strong jewelry cord like tigertail.
You will need 
108 - Black Pony Beads (or the color of your choice).
40 - White Pony Beads. Glitter Pony Beads or Glow-In-The-Dark Pony Beads would also work well for the white portion of your skunk.
Optional: For a stiffer critter you can include a little wire or a pipe cleaner with your cord to help keep it's shape
Beading Wire or 
Pipe Cleaners
3. After finishing the pattern tie a double knot in the cords at the bottom and apply tacky glue to secure.
4. Weave your wire or pipe cleaner through your beaded deer keychain to make it stiffer and hold it's shape.
(Seed beads or E beads can be used in place of pony beads to create smaller characters.)
The illustration below uses green and blue to show you how each cord side is woven into the beads. Your cord, of course, will be all the same color.
Looking for more Christmas pony bead projects? Here are more free patterns to make for ornaments, keychains and handmade Christmas decorations.
