Getting Crafty With Cork
August 9, 2010 by drinknectar
Filed under Featured News
Cork; natural, sustainable and perfect for crafts. If you drink a lot of wine, chances are you have a lot of cork stoppers lying around. It can be a shame to throw them away when so many crafty and creative ideas are out there. At the minimum you can throw them in a big bowl for decoration. If you’re like me, that bowl can fill up pretty quick. Pretty soon you have giant bowls of cork as “decoration” in every room. What now? Last month I wrote about creative uses for wine bottles and planned this tandem piece for corks. While others have gone down this road before, I hope you discover something new here.
- If you like this post, you’ll love “7 Creative Uses to Recycle Wine Bottles”
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More creative cork ideas from Wine Harlots “Put a Cork In It – 16 Part Series”
Here are 7 creative uses for cork stoppers. I would love to hear of anything fun that you do. Please share in the comments if you’ve done any of these or if you have other inspiring ideas to share with the readers here. Not only is it hip to go ‘green,’ cork can make for an elegant decoration.
Decorative Vase Filler
One of the easiest but classy uses for used wine corks is to use them as fillers in vases, decorative glass bowls and even as “mulch” in a planter.
Frames, Art, and Corkboards
A frame, a little glue and a lot of wine can make creative art pieces. I like the use of the chalk board on the piece below. You can pin your memories and add a personalized message.
Trivets and Trays
Cork makes for a fun more personalized serving tray or hot plate trivet.
Let The Light Shine
Use a mold to help shape your illumination creation. Creates a unique light pattern across the room.
Have a Very Merry Wino Christmas
A creative use of wine corks and beads can make for a fun Christmas tree ornament. For even more fun, drink a few bottles and then see if you can still make the decorations.
Sign Sign Everywhere a Sign
A simple, yet elegant way to say, “you are here” is with cork sign holders. Simple to create and classy in their look.
Ambitious Furniture
I’ve seen cork used as countertop, wall tile, bar tile, and even entire chairs made of cork. This creations would add a touch of wine appeal to any room.
Bonus
I wonder if it is comfortable?
My step mom does trivets all the time. Not as nice as this one, though. I’ve done a couple wreaths which are simple and fun and make great gifts for wine lovers. That vest has me thinking someone has WAY too much time on their hands, lol.
Rachele – I trivets are the most common use for corks, that and frames. My favorite is the light and the sign holders. Very creative.
the cork tuxedo is also an excellent floatation device
Joe, added bonus!
I really like the vase filler idea. I would have never thought to do that!
One word… AWESOME!!
I’ve been saving all my corks to make Christmas presents! These are some great ideas!! Thanks for posting!
Keep sippin’ and drink happy!
We’ve been recycling corks from day one. Customers may help themselves of corks from the copper cauldron in our tasting room…free of charge. We’ve seen home-made wine coolers, picture frames, earrings and necklaces, and I’ve heard the corks have been clipped to size and used under the legs of furniture.
So many uses for that cork! A wine cooler would be fun to see!
ooh! you should totally do that Josh! Start a cork recycling bin, where people can take corks for their projects!
I’m liking that back splash idea! I have to show hubs, talk about affordable, eco-friendly AND fun! I love it! I’ve got some major ideas brewing now!
Nice post Josh!
Thanks for the link to my series on corks — I really appreciate it.
Wine Harlots say great minds think alike (and drink alike!)
Cheers!
You’re welcome. I enjoyed your series. There are some pretty crafty cork creations out there.
I love the “Wine Cork” Ornaments! What a neat idea! I have put corks in an old “Jar Lamp” it goes well with my wine theme.
Donna, could be a fun project this fall. Always a good excuse to pop a cork on some wine. Cheers!
We used a hot glue gun to glue corks to MDF and did our whole backsplash in the kitchen! Yes, we had a LOT of corks.
Awesome! People check out this picture, Lynn provided!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookypuss1/4736648662/in/set-72157623298715467/
Lynn, that is cool!
We use the corks in our house as art. Here is a picture of our Cork Catcher! http://generalwinethoughts.com/better-late-than-never/
Phil – I want one. You just gave me a really great idea! Thanks!
Josh
Here’s another picture of most of the backsplash.
It was a lot of work, but I like it. If we ever sell the house, we can just remove the MDF panels and take our corks with us!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookypuss1/4736648178/in/set-72157623298715467/
Looks like I need to drink more wine!
We’re doing something similar, but on a much smaller scale. We have a 3×4′ space between our built in wine rack and a counter and I have a cardboard piece that is about 1/2 filled. I’ve been trying not to have any duplicates. Looks like we have a lot of wine to drink. Yours looks great, by the way.
all I have to say is, “I’ll drink to those!”
Great ideas – I have plenty of corks, just need some time…
I feel the same way…
I made a wreath once and some coasters… you can also make awesome cork reindeer
another fun game is to take the corks that mean something to you, write a note on them and save them in a jar – that way when you’re sitting around one day and need a pick-me-up you can dump the jar and have a good time reminiscing about all those fun moments.
and I’m totally stealing the place card holder idea and maybe the jacket idea too…..
Next time I see you Constance, I better see you wearing that jacket! LOL
I was wondering what holds the corks together for the cork lamp. This is so nice and I cant imagine how to hold it together – thinking hot glue would melt..
thank you!