Put a cork in it
Create a cork trivet or tray
Photo courtesy of Pexels
I admit it. I’m not a wine drinker. I’ll choose an IPA over a Cabernet every time. But I do love wine corks and all the cool projects you can make with them. Luckily, I’ve got a lot of wine-drinking friends who gladly supply me with all the corks I need. Cheers, my friends!
I love the look of cork. It’s a natural, biodegradable and renewable resource. Did you know cork comes from the bark of cork oak trees, mostly from Portugal. Cork is a renewable resource because trees don’t need to be cut down. Instead, bark can be harvested from a tree every 9-12 years. Cork trees can live up to 300 years!
So what can you do with your corks?
Recycle - Cork is recyclable and can be transformed into many new products, including shoes. (I have a pair of sandals with a cork soles and I love them!). Check to see if your local recycling service accepts cork. Or check with companies like reCork to find a drop off location or pay to ship your corks to them.
Compost - If your corks are natural – not synthetic – you can add them to a compost bin.
Trash - Please don’t do this! Recycle or save them for someone who can get crafty with them. Better yet, get crafty with them yourself! Which leads me to…
Reuse - There are so many easy, cute projects using wine corks. Here are just a few of the fun ideas that inspired me to get my hands on my own supply of corks.
I love this bulletin board idea with the painted ends, but as I embarked on that project, I soon realized I’d be covering up all of the interesting markings on the corks. The hurricane candle project here shows off the markings nicely and is a quick and easy project you can complete in under an hour. You can easily find the right sized glass containers at a thrift shop – you might even have some around your house that will work.
I zeroed in on making a tray or a trivet. I found three flat wooden trays? frames? at the thrift shop. I’m not sure what they were supposed to be. They seemed kind of homemade, with real wood rims but a pressboard backing. Priced at $1.97 each, but turned out to be only .98 cents each, since it was half price day for green-tagged items. I was happy to give these a second chance as they might have otherwise ended up in the thrift shop Dumpster. I knew they would make a great base for my cork tray, large enough to put a nice pot of chili on the table.
First, I sorted the corks, pulling out the ones in the best condition and with the most interesting artwork on them. Then I played around with arranging them on the tray, trying not to duplicate any wineries. This pattern was a good fit for this tray, but you can really get creative with your patterns. I took a quick picture of my design before dumping them back on the table.
Next, I painted the entire top of the tray. I thought I could get away with painting just the rim of the tray, but the back shows through the gaps in the corks, so I painted the entire thing with a black acrylic paint.
After the paint was thoroughly dry, I glued the corks in one by one using Aleene’s all-purpose clear tacky glue. I applied an ample ribbon of glue on one side of the cork and put it in place. It’s important to have a pattern that fits but is not too tight so you don’t have corks popping out all over the place as you try to wedge them into place.
I opted not to use any synthetic corks (too plastic-y looking), other than a couple from the Robert Mondavi Winery that featured inspiring messages like “find true balance” and “Living a fine life is an art form.” I thought these added a nice touch, but I made sure to place these synthetic corks on the outer edge. I’m really not sure if they will stand up to heat if I actually do put a hot pot on this cork trivet.
The last step in this project is placing some felt feet on the bottom so it doesn’t scratch your table or countertop. I got this package of Broxan felt floor protectors for just a few dollars – now I have plenty for future projects. I placed six of them on the bottom on my tray – just peel and stick!
I gotta say, I fell in love with this project, cork by cork. I had never fully appreciated the art of wine corks, from the beauty of the cork itself to the different fonts and designs used. I love the way this project shows off the uniqueness of these little pieces of art.
So what are you going to make? Save your corks or collect them from friends and enjoy an afternoon crafting with cork!
