I think I found myself a new DIY project. I wanted to give our guests who choose to go on the wine tour a little favor, but something simple and reusable. I wish I could afford personalized wine glasses, but that's not realistic. So I thought Wine glass charms would be cool. I found this instruction site to make my own, and since I cannot find exactly what I want I think this is my best option.
not martha
to make : ridiculously easy wine glass charms
I decided to make sets of 12 charms each, so I got 12 different colors
I bought 6mm druk beads (simple Czech glass) - I originally wanted 8mm but those did not fit over the rounded wire
I bought base metal (as opposed to sterling silver) 1" hoops that are actually earring findings - they also carried 3/4" which probably would have worked out even better, but may have created more problems getting the bead on
detail of the ends, one is flattened and has a hole punched in it creating it's own clasp later
STEP ONE: put the bead on
STEP TWO: grab the regular end with some pliers (needle nose would work best if you have them) - just 1/4" or less. I found holding the hoop right where I was going to bend it worked best
STEP THREE: bend upwards
STEP FOUR: admire your work. Slip the flattened end with the hole over the bent end to secure.
http://www.notmartha.org/images/tomake/winecharms/finished1.jpg
detail of closed charm
If it doesn't want to hold, gently pull the hoop open so that it will have some tension when closed.
ta da!
I packaged some in those glass topped favor containers which are so trendy these days.
These simple wine charms are so easy to make it's silly. All I ended buying were the hoops and the beads themselves. I bought my hoops at JewelrySupply.com - base metal silver, 100 for $9. The beads I bought at General Bead here in San Francisco. They came in units of 25 for $1.50 to $3.00 per unit. I also found the hoops at General Bead. If you want you can get more complex and start adding charms attached with little jump rings.