How to Make Wine Charms With Memory Wire

Use decorative beads to make wine charms.

Wine charms are decorative as well as useful, especially if you make each one distinctive. You and your guests will know which glass is theirs by the wine charms dangling around the stem of their glass. You can make wine charms with elastic beading cord or with memory wire, depending on the desired design. Elastic charms are circular and fit around the base of a wine glass stem. With memory wire, you have more design flexibility when making your wine charms. The memory wire can wrap around the stems from top to bottom or form smaller circles to fit at the base.

Things You'll Need

• Memory wire
• Measuring tape
• Wire cutters
• Crimp beads
• Crimping pliers
• Seed beads, size 10 or 11
• Other decorative beads

Instructions

1. Cut a length of memory wire twice as long as the length of the wine glass stem.

2. Thread a crimp bead over one end of the memory wire. Position crimping pliers over the crimp bead. Most crimping pliers have two notches in the end of the pliers. First position the notch farthest from the tip over the crimp bead. Squeeze the handle, and the pliers will crush the crimp bead into an oval shape. Reposition the pliers to fit the notch closest to the tip over the crushed crimp bead. Squeeze the handle again, and the crimp bead becomes more rounded. Placing a crimp bead at the end of the wire strand will keep the beads from sliding off the wine charm.

3. Thread a size 10 or 11 seed bead over the open end of the memory wire. Slide the seed bead to the crimped bead. Seed beads are smaller than most other beads and will also work as a stopper for beads with larger holes.

4. Thread your choice of beads over the length of the memory wire, up to within 1/4 inch of the end. Thread a size 10 or 11 seed bead behind the last bead on the strand. Thread a crimp bead behind the seed bead and crimp it with the crimping pliers.

5. Wrap the beaded memory wire tightly around the wine glass stem.

Tips & Warnings

• If you prefer not to have the wire fully beaded, crimp beads before and after the beaded sections.

References

• How to Make Jewelry: Bead Stringing on Memory Wire

Resources

• JEM Library: Crimping Pliers