Hey, there, it’s Sarah of Sadie Seasongoods again, with a new upcycling idea to share.

It’s that time of year again- Back to School! You’ve bought all the supplies, met all the teachers, and got back into a morning routine. And to Moms and Dads everywhere- Congratulations! You survived another summer!

To celebrate that feat, I decided to upcycle some jewelry from our Charlotte Region ReStores into wine charms. Wine charms are a great way to identify a someone’s wine glass in a group setting. This way, you can easily remember which glass is yours when you set it down on a table or your recently created Upcycled Drink Tray!

If celebratory brunches and happy hours aren’t a back-to-school tradition for the parents, maybe we can change that!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Jewelry charms from Habitat CLT Region ReStore (Necklaces, charm bracelets, or any type of jewelry that can hang on a hoop)
• Beads (from a necklace purchased at one of our ReStores or from a craft store)
• Stemware hoops
• Small jewelry-making pliers and jump rings (Optional, may not be needed depending on the jewelry that you find and repurpose!)
• Wine glasses from the Charlotte Region ReStore, of course!

Safety first!

This is a pretty low-risk project. But I would caution you to stay away from heavy charms or jewelry that could damage a wine glass stem or base if it clinks too hard against the glass.

Here’s how I made Wine Charms from Jewelry “Bits”:

• Did you know that most of our ReStores carry some jewelry? Head to your favorite store to peruse the selection and find your charms and beads. Be sure and check the glass cases around the cash registers for unique pieces. Personally, I found a lot of charm options at the northern stores, especially at the Cornelius ReStore!
• The Cornelius store even had bags of orphaned charms and other “bits” that were perfect for this repurposing craft.

• After you collect some jewelry bits to transform into wine charms, you need a few other materials. These include stemware hoops (found in most craft stores in the jewelry-making section), small jewelry pliers, and small jump rings.
  You may not need pliers and rings, depending on the pieces of jewelry that you plan to upcycle. But if you need to disassemble a necklace or charm bracelet, or if any of your charms aren’t on a jump ring, then these supplies will definitely come in handy.
• Once you have all of your charm-making supplies, all you need to do is open up the stemware hoop and start slipping beads and jewelry charms onto the wire hoop!

• It’s seriously that simple! Pro tip: If the beads don’t want to slip onto the hoop easily, use your jewelry pliers to flatten the bent end (the part that bends up and slips into the ring). Slide on your beads and charm and simply bend it back up when you’re done!
• I ended up making a set of four wine charms for now, all of them featuring a critter charm and the same series of beads. But the sky is the limit here! They just have to be slightly (or completely!) different as a way to “mark” an individual’s wine glass.