Wine Charms - to Break the Ice?

A few weeks ago, I had a girls' night at my apartment. I was actually really surprised, I didn't realize I had so many girlfriends. As I was putting my guest list together, I noticed that only two of my girlfriends actually knew each other. I was a little concerned that the party would be awkward since no one knew each other, but I later figured it would work out since they all had one thing in common - they all know me :).

The night of the party, I remembered that a few weeks back I made wine charms (wine glass tags) out of old jewelry/items that were in my jewelry box. I got out the wine charms, and decided to let the guests decide which charm they wanted for their glasses.  (I like wine charms because they are an easy way to make sure drinks don't get confused).

When my friend L put one charm on her glass, she said, "Wow" this is a really good ice breaker. I didn't realize, but she was right. Each wine charm told a different story from my past: I had an old pin from the National Honor Society (I was a member in high school), 1/2 of a friendship necklace (I got from a friend in junior high), one earring (from a pair that I bought when I was visiting San Diego with my in-laws when M and I were engaged). So you get the picture, these little charms got us all talking about high school stories, first trips with the in-laws, trips to San Diego, first best friend, fashion trends from childhood, etc.

So here is how I did it. After I put away my Christmas decorations on January 1, I discovered a bunch of extra Christmas bulb holders.

I bent those in a circle, and then bent the ends in so they could be latched together. I then sorted through my jewelry box and found all the pieces that didn't have monetary value, but personal value, things I knew I would never throw away.

I then figured out a way to thread each piece on the wire.  Here are some examples.

Friendship necklace:

 

Key's to an old suitcase padlock:

 

An old racetrack pin: