Sunday, October 24, 2010

Tutorial For Making Beaded Wine Charms


Making Beaded Wine Charms
Every Christmas Holiday season I receive lots of orders for my beaded wine charms.  These are one of my favorite - and actually easiest items to create.  The possibilities are endless for themes, colors and materials.  These charms are great for dinner parties and entertaining - helping your guests keep up with their glass - and making nice conversation pieces.  They also make great hostess gifts!



This tutorial will show how I make my beaded wine charms.

Materials: 

  • Beads of your choice 
  • Charms
  • Wire hoops (I use 25mm earring wire hoops)
  • Small jump rings to attach the charm to the hoop - or headpins for converting a bead into a   charm with its own loop using a wrapped loop technique
  • Round nose and needle nose pliers


Instructions:


1.  Choose your wire hoop.  This tutorial uses a 25mm gold-plated wire hoop.
25mm Gold Plated Wire Hoop
2.  Place beads and charm onto wire hoop.  For these charms I made my own charm using beads and a headpin which I wire-wrapped to form a loop for sliding onto the charm.  You can also use ready made charms - available in a wide variety of materials and themes.
Wire Hoop with Beads and Charm


3.  Form a closure for the hoop so that the beads and charm does not fall off.  The wire hoop has one end with a loop and one straight end.  Working on the straight end, use your round nose pliers to bend the end up to make a 90 degree angle.
Wire Hoop with 90 Degree Angle Closure

4.  Some people stop with step 3 but I prefer to finish the closure by using my round nose pliers to bend the tip of the hoop backwards to form a u-shaped closure.  To do this, grasp the tip of the bent up portion of the hoop end and bend it backwards over the top of the pliers tip.
Wire Hoop Finished with U-Shaped Closure
5.  Voila!  You now have a perfectly finished wine glass charm.
Finished Wine Charm
6.  Make as many as you want for a set - four, six, eight or more!
Set of Six Beaded Wine Charms

You can find more of my beaded wine charms in my Etsy shop!







No comments:

Post a Comment