How to: Make Crafts from Wine Corks
Thursday, February 24th, 2011
My mother used to be a bit of a wino, which (as to be expected) meant that we had a lot of corks around the house. When I was young, I used to push toothpicks into the center of the corks and make little horses or different geometric shapes with them. As I’ve grown older I’ve come to fancy wine quite a bit myself and, with that affection, a collection of corks has developed. Here are a few crafty options to make those corks into practical household objects.
1) Lampshade
What you’ll need: about 100 wine corks, hot glue and a bare light bulb fixture.
DIY: Take about 15 corks and arrange them vertically into a circle; decide if the circle is wide enough and adjust to size. Glue the corks together. Now, take several corks and glue them horizontally around the circle you’ve made, leaving about half an inch of space between each cork. Once you have one full row, start the next row by placing the corks horizontally on top of the space that you have left in the row below (this leaves space for the light to come through). Repeat until there are seven rows. Now, by moving the cork placement to be closer to the interior of the lamp shade, you’re going to start making the shade round. Make the rows until there isn’t room for another. It should look a bit like a beehive. Top the shade off with a few corks on top, still horizontal.
2) Stamps
What you’ll need: Corks, a sharp tool (rubber and glue are optional)
DIY: Take the sharp tool and cut a shape into the cork that you’d like to use as a stamp. Simple shapes with straight lines work best. A cork stamp will last for a few weeks of use, but to make a lasting stamp use rubber. Take rubber and carve into it; this should be easier than the cork. Cut around the rubber until it is the same shape as the cork. Glue the rubber bottom onto the cork.
3) Coasters
What you’ll need: Corks, cutting tool, glue, and a flat surface.
DIY: Cut the corks in halves and place in a rectangular shape on the flat surface you’ve picked. Glue the corks onto the surface. Let dry.
There are several other options, i.e. cork wreaths, cork Christmas trees and cork chairs, but Christmas decorations are lame and I don’t drink enough to build a chair.
1) Lampshade
What you’ll need: about 100 wine corks, hot glue and a bare light bulb fixture.
DIY: Take about 15 corks and arrange them vertically into a circle; decide if the circle is wide enough and adjust to size. Glue the corks together. Now, take several corks and glue them horizontally around the circle you’ve made, leaving about half an inch of space between each cork. Once you have one full row, start the next row by placing the corks horizontally on top of the space that you have left in the row below (this leaves space for the light to come through). Repeat until there are seven rows. Now, by moving the cork placement to be closer to the interior of the lamp shade, you’re going to start making the shade round. Make the rows until there isn’t room for another. It should look a bit like a beehive. Top the shade off with a few corks on top, still horizontal.
2) Stamps
What you’ll need: Corks, a sharp tool (rubber and glue are optional)
DIY: Take the sharp tool and cut a shape into the cork that you’d like to use as a stamp. Simple shapes with straight lines work best. A cork stamp will last for a few weeks of use, but to make a lasting stamp use rubber. Take rubber and carve into it; this should be easier than the cork. Cut around the rubber until it is the same shape as the cork. Glue the rubber bottom onto the cork.
3) Coasters
What you’ll need: Corks, cutting tool, glue, and a flat surface.
DIY: Cut the corks in halves and place in a rectangular shape on the flat surface you’ve picked. Glue the corks onto the surface. Let dry.
There are several other options, i.e. cork wreaths, cork Christmas trees and cork chairs, but Christmas decorations are lame and I don’t drink enough to build a chair.
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