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!
Hop on over to these blogs to see the makeovers they created:
