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Give your keychain some tropical vibes with this colorful beaded parrot. Made with pony beads and cord, this fun tropical bird is a great project for parrot lovers, bird lovers and anyone who enjoys colorful and exotic birds.
Add your finished parrot to a keychain, keyring, bag or backpack, or use it as a unique zipper pull. This beaded bird also makes a fun handmade gift, summer camp or group craft, fundraiser project, or giveaway for festivals and parties. Make several for a flock of feathered friends or use one as a colorful parrot or bird mascot.
If you make this project please share your photos with us. With your permission we'll add it to the page and credit it to you.
The word craft has been around for more than a thousand years. Its Old English ancestor referred to strength, skill or knowledge rather than specifically to making decorative things. Over the centuries, its meaning became increasingly associated with skilled work and making things by hand. So when someone becomes good at a craft, they're using the word surprisingly close to one of its oldest meanings: they've developed a skill.
You will need one connector such as a 
Lanyard hook,
or any type of 
Key Ring.
Cord:
You will need about
2 yards of cord for your tropical bird.
There are lots of different types of cords you can use. We prefer a cord that is 1mm to 2mm thick because it helps your parrot 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 parrot 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 choice is
Monofilament Cord
or
2mm metallic cording. Other great choices would be jute or hemp cord, leather necklace cord, rattail cord, shoelaces, ribbon, paracord, or a strong jewelry cord like tigertail.
For ours, we used a neutral pearl colored leather cord.
Beads needed:
13 - Aqua Pony Beads for the head and wings. (A blue glitter Pony Bead would be spectacular).
2 - Black Pony Beads for the eyes.
2 - Orange Pony Beads for the beak.
14 - White Pony Beads for the breast.
10 - Pink Pony Beads for the bird's sides.
7 - Beige Pony Beads for the bird's feet.
12 - Blue Pony Beads for the bird's tail.
Just about any tropical colored beads would look fantastic on your parrot. Glitter pony beads, pearl pony beads and even glitter pony beads would give you a wonderfully unique look.
Other Things Needed:
GlueOptional: For a stiffer parrot 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 or surgeon's knot in the cords at the bottom and apply glue to secure.
(Optional) 4. Weave your wire or pipe cleaner through the first row of your beaded parrot 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 red and blue lines to show you how each cord side is threaded into the beads. Your cord, of course, will be all the same color.
