top of page
Search
  • havingfuntrying

Did anyone ever tell you to put a cork in it?


It's a beautiful day and I'm sitting here watching The Masters on tv. This is the time of year you want to be outside so a somewhat small craft may fit the bill. If you're looking for a hostess gift or you just have a lot of corks in your collection you've come to the right place.

Before you can get started you're going to need corks. I have one of those great cork cages but knew I didn't have enough to make anything much. I've heard you can get them on Craigslist or just ask around, you may have generous friends like I do. If not you can always order a bag from Amazon. Link

I saw a heart made of corks on one of my favorite blogs, Sand & Sisal. Check it out for a tutorial. Link I was trying to put together a basket for my club's holiday auction and it fit the wine theme perfectly. There really isn't much to it. I put some parchment paper over my heart drawing which helped keep it from sticking to the corks/glue. I imagine wax paper would also work. The hardest part for me was to keep the corks straight and not leaning either way so it can sit on it's side. I had to take some apart more than once but finally got it. I liked the one for the basket so much that I made one for us. I leave it up all the time but would make a nice Valentine gift or display.

Another thing to do with corks is to make it in shape of a letter. I found a lot of instructions but you really don't need them. I wanted to make a hostess gift so found a wood C at a local craft store. Unfortunately it was a little too fancy so wouldn't stand up or even look nice hung. Sadly I had to give up on it and pulled or cut all the corks off. Back to the drawing board. I couldn't find a wood or paperboard C that I liked so decided to make one myself. I used Word to make a large C, outline only, and printed it out. I used it as a template to cut it out of cardboard. I covered it with patterned craft paper using Mod Podge but you could use any paper, even cartoons.

Then it's just a matter of gluing the corks to the letter on the side of the cork you don't want to see. You'll want to keep the size the same and alternate so you don't have the red stained ones all together. You're also gluing the sides together making sure the part you want to see is on the outside. For my project I used a larger cork on each end and then 2 rows for the rest. Once I was done it was clear it wasn't going to stand on it's own but looked great hanging. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. The main thing was that my friend was happy with the gift.

So that's just two of the things you can do with corks. Do a quick search and you'll find something to suit you. Even if you're not creative you can just collect them in a variety of wine cages. I've seen them in shapes like wine bottles, glasses, cowboy boots, Eiffel Tower, wreath, ... If nothing else it gives you a reason to drink more wine. Cheers.

This is the basket. I was tempted to bid on it myself. :)

4 views0 comments
bottom of page