I was going to Kennedy Space Center a few weeks back with a Kansas space camp from the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center (oh wait, it's not Space Camp...NASA has tried to sue them multiple times for that...it's the Future Astronaut Training Program). I needed a name tag of some sort on my checked bag, but my standard index-card-laminated-with-tape would never stand up to baggage handling. So, I made my own, durable plastic name tags.

Obligatory safety information: Don't cut yourself with scissors, poke yourself with the pointy plastic corners, pinch yourself in the keyring, gouge yourself with the drill, burn yourself while singing the edges, obliterate yourself by jumping in front of a dump truck, or sue me after doing something dumb. If you read all this, kudos to you, because I didn't.

Step 1: Getting the Stuff

As usual, collect all the supplies beforehand, yada yada yada.

-Plastic Sheet. The piece I used was a binder divider in a previous life. It's fairly thick, stiff stuff...five hundredths of an inch, or 1.5mm.
-Key ring. Pull one off a crappy promotional keychain, buy some at the hobby store (shudder), or snitch them off an unsuspecting victims keys.
-Scissors. Tough ones that can handle the plastic. Unless you have a laser cutter. You could use a bandsaw, I guess...
-Mailing labels. The Smithsonion Museum of the American Indian is kind enough to occasionally send me these ones with uber-cool designs on them. Don't bother with the labels if you have the aforementioned laser, as then you can etch it.
-Pointy thing. I used a 1/8" drill, you could use a hefty hole punch, a hot nail, that laser cutter...

Step 2: Measure and Cut

A bit self-explanatory. Measure the plastic sheet to a bit longer than the mailing label. I decided to cut off the white space at the edge and the uber-cool design to keep the tag smaller. Just leave room on one end for a hole.

Step 3: Drill and Stick

Drill a hole through the end of the plastic tag, or poke it with a hot nail, or whatever. Trim the hole with flushcut wire nippers, and use a match, lighter, or candle to singe burrs off the edge. Clean the tag with alcohol if necessary, and stick the mailing label on. Get it straight, it looks stupid when it's crooked. Then, just attach the key ring, put it on your bag, and have a fun vacation!