Vintage Cork Necklace

Natural cork and an aged-looking chain help to create the vintage vibe of this necklace. This is the perfect showcase for one of your favorite printed corks. You could change it up by using charms that relate to the picture on the cork, as in the Key Chain (see project in this part). Get creative and use what you have!

You will need:

* 18" aged brass jewelry chain

* 1 “feature” charm

* 8 jump rings (1⁄4")

* 1 cool-looking wine cork

* Coping saw

* Sandpaper

* 1 (4mm) screw eye

* 7" aged brass jewelry chain, thinner than the 18" one

* 6 small, flat beads with holes through the center, not at the top (or charm set sold already beaded on headpins)

* 6 (1") headpins

* 1 toggle clasp

* Needle-nose pliers

  1. Fold the longer chain in half lengthwise to find the center, and use the pliers to attach the “feature” charm to that spot with a jump ring.
  2. Cut your wine cork in half lengthwise with a coping saw. Sand the cut back and edges of the cork. Screw in the screw eye and thread onto the fine chain.
  3. Hold the fine chain 2.5" to the right and left of the top charm to make sure the charm doesn’t hit the cork. If it doesn’t, attach the fine chain to the larger chain with jump rings. If it hits, readjust the distance and attach.
  4. If you aren’t using pre-made beaded drops, make your own by threading the beads onto headpins and closing with a loop. Attach to the large chain with jump rings at the intervals shown.

  5. Attach the clasp to the ends of the main chain with jump rings.

Don’t Be Intimidated!

These instructions might seem complicated if you are new to jewelry making, but it’s really just twisting a few small metal pieces with pliers. It’s harder to explain than it is to actually do, so just trust yourself and dive in. You can totally do this.

Winemaking in Argentina

Mendoza is Argentina’s largest and best wine-producing region. It makes the country’s top wines. When Spanish settlers brought Vitis vinifera vines to Argentina via Chile and Peru, they discovered that the best place to grow the grapes was at the foot of the Andes. They established the city of Mendoza there in 1561, and it remains the center of Argentina’s winemaking industry today. Malbec has emerged as the country’s premier grape.