I am joining the Do It Over Designers and sharing some ways to upcycle wine corks!
Many wineries are switching to synthetic corks because they are cheaper. They’re not made from wood, so they don’t degrade or dry out and there’s no need to store bottles on their sides to keep the cork damp. Synthetic cork also won’t break apart, so there’s no risk of cork crumbs to fish out of your wine.
Cork is made from wood, which dries out and crumbles with time. Cork is a natural product, and each is slightly different. Cork brands and their porousness vary, which affects the rate at which air interacts with the wine in the bottle. Wines cellared for long periods of time must be kept on their sides to keep the cork damp.
I prefer to save real corks rather than synthetic, mostly because of their imperfections!
There’s something romantic and ceremonial about popping a champagne cork. Champagne corks, which expand upon removal and cannot be placed back into the bottle.
One way to upcycle these corks is to add an alligator clip:
...and use them as place cards....
...or to label food at a party...
One of a few ways I have used traditional corks in the past is to make a small bulletin board. The corks can simply be glued onto a strip of wood, ruler or yardstick
A few years ago I made my daughter a cornice for her wine-themed kitchen, again they were just glued onto a thin sheet of wood:
I used wood glue on each cork, but applied them to the wood backings with a dab of hot glue to secure each until wood glue dried.
Cork wreaths can be made by attaching the corks to a straw or
styrofoam wreath:
I also made a removable backsplash for a small counter in my kitchen to cover electrical and telephone plugs:
We enjoy wine, I like white and my husband likes red!
When the pandemic ends I look forward to enjoying a glass or two with girlfriends!
Pandora’s Box You are here
Love the wreath and the kitchen cornice, so cute :)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas, Patti - and I LOVE your backsplash! I have lots of wine corks that are looking for projects, so I guess I better get busy!
ReplyDeleteLove your ideas! Unfortunately for me, I don't like wine so it would take me 1,000 years to save enough for a cornice or backsplash. I do however, see bags of them at thrift stores every now and then!!
ReplyDeleteTania
I love how you recycled/repurposed your corks, Patti! What fun ideas! I love creating projects with corks, too! I use to get them from a very dear friend who loved drinking wine. She would give them to me by the bag full but she passed away last year. I still have some of her wine corks. I really miss my friend and think of her daily.
ReplyDeleteI"m always looking for good cork craft and have done some of these but some fun new ones. I especially love the aligator clip idea!
ReplyDeleteThese are some of the cutest projects I've ever seen with champagne and wine corks. I really love the valence. That would look great in a lake house, I think (must file away for later...)...
ReplyDeleteSo many great ideas, the table labels are my favourite. It will be sad to see them gone they are the gift that keeps on giving.
ReplyDeleteOh how fun is that! Love how it turned out and such a great gift idea. Thanks for sharing and wonderful hopping with you.
ReplyDeleteAll the little things you did with the corks are so adorable. Love them all.
ReplyDeleteLove all your projects using wine corcks. I can't wait to have a glass of wine with friends either.
ReplyDeleteCindy
Great creative projects for using wine corks. Love that backsplash! I save all, I just love the look of them and they do bring back a lot of memories...........
ReplyDeleteWow !! so many fantastic use of the humble wine cork ! Especially love the backsplash. You are very creative Patti.
ReplyDeleteDropping by from the Do it over designers blog hop.
Have a fabulous week.
Naush
Patti, I love that cornice and your removable backsplash so much! You've always got such great ideas!
ReplyDeleteThese are some cute corky ideas! I love it. I like the real cork too. Like you, I like the imperfections. I have several corks saved and like to make key rings with them. There is post somewhere on my blog about that. Just search “corks”. I love your ideas.
ReplyDeleteLisa
Great upcycle ideas Patti; especially love the kitchen backsplash! Sadly I can't drink because I get migraines but I hear someone is working on a way to remove sulphites from wine, so that might just change at some point in the future. If it does, I'll definitely try a few of these out!
ReplyDeleteWow Patti, very creative with the wine corks! I save corks too, but haven't come up with any brilliant projects so far...love the alligator clips for holding signs. I can't believe how many wines come with a screw top now, it certainly makes them convenient! 🍷
ReplyDeleteThe backsplash idea is very interesting. It would take me a long time to get there though. My favorite is the wreath. It can be used for so many occasions and setting. Glad you are part of the blog hop.
ReplyDeleteSo much fun and wonderful to "meet" you! thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday, hope to see you again soon!
ReplyDeleteSuch fun ideas. Love the removable backsplash. It almost looks like tile.
ReplyDelete