Possible addition to Sunday events? Do you have a soldering iron? == Solder your own wine charms == http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/winecharms (from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories) Here is how you can put together your own extra-snazzy wine charms out of electronic components. They look great, are easy to make, cost next to nothing, and make great conversation pieces. For an added bonus, you can solder them in place, making them semi-permanent yet easily removable. Wine charms can add a bit of interesting flair to your wine, martini, and margarita glasses. They can be something fun to look at, play with, and (yes) keep track of which one is yours. Like all the others that you're likely to come across in a big-box store, the sets that we have used were made (badly, in China) of low-grade cast metal and cost about $2 each. Not to say that certain of these don't have their appeal, but it still strikes me as wrong in a couple of different ways. First, there's the terrible irony of using such cheaply made trinkets to decorate nice wine glasses, doubly ironic since you're most likely to be using wine charms– and serving the good stuff– when guests are over. Secondly, since wine charms are such a good idea, to use the mass-produced ones is to waste an opportunity for art. Situations like this are, of course, where the D-I-Y community really begins to shine. You can read detailed instructions about how to make beaded wine charms at Not Martha, or learn how to make charms out of crocheted wire, or go for the simple and classic version instead. Here, we're making wine charms out of electronic components. It's an easy five-minute project with elegant results. Let's get started!

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