How to Decorate Champagne Flutes or Wine Glasses with Beads

Decorative, beaded stemware is amazing, but can be very expensive. Why pay a ton of money when you can make your own with beads, cabochons, and glue?!

I live in Florida, and my husband and I got married on beautiful Anna Maria Island. Of course, all of my decor was beach wedding themed. That inspired me to make these beautiful DIY champagne flutes specifically with a beach wedding in mind. Of course, you can make yours in any colors or themes you can dream up. Not getting married? Whip some of these up to keep around your home, or to give as gifts. You could also use wine glasses, and pop in some tea lights. So many awesome things you can do. 

Let's get started!

Step 1

What you'll need:

Gloves (totally optional, but recommended if you have sensitive skin)

Towel, Wax Paper (or other covering for your surface)

Champagne Flute or Wine Glass

Waterproof Glue

Beads and Cabochons (click here to get my kit to make this design shown - even includes glue!) 

Step 2

This isn't necessary, BUT highly recommended. Lay out your basic design before applying glue. E6000 glue starts curing in about 2 minutes, so while you can move your beads and cabs after you've glued them down, you really don't have much time. Easier to give yourself a visual idea of where you're going to place your decorations first. 

Step 3

Before you begin gluing make sure you're in a well ventilated area!! This glue is industrial strength and very, very strong smelling. I worked right by an open window. Now, you have two ways you can apply your glue. You can spread glue over small sections directly to the glass (as shown here) or, you can apply glue directly to your larger beads and cabs and glue them down. Either way, you have about 1-2 mins before the glue starts to cure, so you'll need to work quickly. One big benefit of the E6000, besides being waterproof, is that it is self leveling which is very handy in projects like this. 

Step 4

Glue down your first "layer" of beads and cabs, and cover the entire foot/base of the glass (continue up the stem, if desired). Above I show the different methods of gluing down - section at a time, or applying glue to the larger cabs and beads first. The seed beads I sprinkle over the glue almost like you would glitter.

Step 5

You really can add as many or as few decorations as you'd like! I added a second "layer" of cabochons a top the seed beads to make them really stand out. You really can add as many layers as you'd like, just be sure you have plenty of glue. 

Step 6

The only thing left to do is let your decorated champagne flute dry! It will take 24-72 hours to fully cure - if you're in a hurry, heat will help speed the process. Once it is completely cured, your glass is really for drinking! Keep in mind the glass must be hand-washed very gently. Enjoy!