I always see great things that people make out of old cork. In my kitchen, which is themed on the Napa Valley/Sonoma County area of California (which I dream of living in one day), I have little metal pieces filled with corks, a cork board made of corks for displaying pictures, etc. An old cork will often get thrown away, but there are so many different things you can make with them.
Crafts with Corks: How To Make A Wine Cork Hotpad
I always ask people to save corks for me. My Mom had a friend who owned a restaurant in Oregon, where she lives, that had a huge box full, which they gave her. So many corks, so little time – what do I do with them all?
I decided to make a Wine Cork Hot Pad with some of the corks I had. I always have to get my fabric hot pads out when I’m making tea and want to set my teapot on the table, etc. or the good old ugly placemats that don’t match for when I’m putting warm things on our kitchen table. I figured what could be better than recycling some of the corks into something useful. So here it is – I hope you like it!!
Materials/Tools Used
- Old Corks
- 6″ x 6″ Photo Frame
- Thin Craft Corkboard
- Glue Gun
- Scissors/Cutter
- & Time!
Instructions
Start by getting a frame that is about 6″ x 6″ in size and removing the piece of glass (you can save this for another project). If you want one larger, or a different shape, that is just fine. The shape and size will depend on how many corks that you have to use.
Now that you have the glass out, use the paper inset to measure the piece of corkboard that you will cut to fit inside. You can always just use a piece of cardboard, if you wish. I just liked the idea of corks going with cork. 🙂
When you’re ready to begin adding the corks, I recommend taking the time to just piece it together without attaching any. You will be able to see how it will all go together and change it up if you wish. I decided to go with a “basket weave” design.
Once you’ve decided the final layout, just begin using your glue gun to secure each set.
You’ll have some issues when you get to the edges. Just mark the cork with a pencil on where it will need to be trimmed.
I tried several different techniques to trim them and found that using the PVC cutter worked the best. Just click it into place where you need it and snip away. You might need to sand the edges after it’s clipped to finish them.
Once you have the pieces trimmed, you can just glue them into place, as well.
After that, just put it where you will be using it and enjoy!
Hope you like it! Please take a minute to leave me a comment and let me know what you would do different, or what you would add, etc. Be sure to tweet, pin, share, etc. – thanks!!
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“May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness — an abundance of grain and new wine.” -Genesis 27:28
All pictures and text are my own and have not been copied in any way. I, Jamie Tomkins, own and operate Tiger Strypes Blog located at www.TigerStrypes.com. From time to time you’ll hear about my real life experiences or creations with products and/or services from companies and individuals. Let it be known that I have no affiliation with these said companies, and have not received compensation for reviewing or using their service/product. The information that I give regarding the product/service is based off my own personal experience, I do not guarantee that your experience will be the same.
Great craft! My boyfriend got me a box of wine corks from a garage sale and I have been loathe to throw them out. Now I can put them to good use.
Perfect Rachee – it’s so much fun!!
What a great craft! I don’t have a supply of corks yet, but I am drinking, oops, I mean working on it! lol And then I am going to make one of these! Easy and functional!
Busted!!! ha/ha I love it. It’s always great to do the “research” for the product!! 🙂 Cheers!