Wineglass stem markers are an easy and fast little item to fabricate. Supplies are minimal, which means they’re inexpensive. Great for gift giving as well as wedding favors, you might want to make a bunch.
Supplies
Memory wire (This is the secret of making stem markers. You can find memory wire at your favorite craft store in the beading aisle. It comes in coils as well as split rings. I found, since I was going to make several dozen markers, the split rings were the most economical way to go. I used rings with a 3/4″diameter.)
Beads (I used a couple different sizes. Seed beads were used as spacers for the larger beads.)
Charms (I bogarted several dozen ‘love’ charms from a family wedding several weeks ago!)
Small split rings (You can attach these to your charms so they ‘dangle’.)
A needle-nose pliers
Proceedure
Using the wire cutter on your needle-nose pliers, cut your split rings in half. (This is just another reason why small, split rings are so economical: you can make two markers out of ONE ring.)
Using the needle-nose plier, bend one end of the cut wire ring backward. You might even want to crimp this down completely to eliminate the pointy wire end. (This step prevents the beads from sliding off your marker. Craft stores also sell memory wire end caps that prevent your beads from slipping off, but if you’re going to make A LOT of markers, using end caps will add significantly to your cost.)
From the other end of your ring, start threading on your beads. When about half the wire is full, slip on your charm and then more beads.
When you’re satisfied with your beads and their placement, simply bend and crimp the un-crimped end of the wire.
And you’re done. Cheers!
