Why would anyone bother to save the wine corks, you might ask. Well, because it’s easy and because they can potentially be used in a lot of creative and interesting DIY projects and wine cork crafts.
Repurposing wine corks is one of the easiest things you could do and it’s typically super fun to do so. Let’s have a look at some of these crafts and see if any of them inspires you.
What are Some Project Ideas for Wine Cork Crafts?
Before you begin, you may be wondering what type of crafts you can make with wine corks. The options are honestly endless, but there are some crafts that are easier to make than others.
The most popular wine cork crafts are as follows: Drink Coasters, Bird Houses, Wall Art, Photo Holder, Candle Accessories, Bird Houses, Message Board, Place Card Holder, Jewelry Organizer, A Holiday Wreath
Of course, these aren’t all the options, and you’ll likely find several wine cork crafts on this list you want to make. Thus, you should start saving your wine corks right away.
How to Prepare Wine Corks for Crafts
Corks can carry bacteria, and a special type of mold found in wine bottles. They can also be very difficult to work with in their original form. For this reason, you will always want to clean your corks before you make crafts, and you may want to consider softening them as well.
How to Soften a Wine Cork for Crafts
Cleaning and softening your corks can be done in a couple of different ways.
Steam Your Corks
Steaming corks Is easy if you have a steamer because you can simply fill it halfway with corks and place it in a pot of boiling water. For those without a steamer, a colander will work just as well.
Ensure that the corks do not come in contact with the water as they steam. Let them stay there for 10 minutes. Then remove them from the heat and let them cool before you attempt to handle them.
Boil Your Corks
The second method to clean and soften your corks is by boiling them. For this method you will place the corks in boiling water and leave them for ten minutes.
With this method, the corks will absorb water causing them to swell. Although they will return to their normal size, this can affect the integrity of the cork, which is why it is recommended to steam rather than boil corks.
How to Clean Wine Corks for Crafts
Depending on the craft you are making, you may not need to soften your corks, and would rather them remain more rigid and firm. If this is the case, you will not want to boil or steam your corks.
Instead, you can clean your corks quickly and easily by placing them in a bucket of warm water with a small amount of hydrogen peroxide. Any germs on the corks will not survive with this method, and the corks can be removed after a minute, meaning they will not have time to soften too much in the water as they do in the other methods.
How to Cut the Wine Corks
Method 1: Use a Barrier
Take two pieces of plywood, or some other hard materials that you don’t mind if they are damaged, and place them on either side of the cork to keep it in place as you cut.
Method 2: Use Clamps
Wood clamps also work great as cork clamps. Just be aware that it is possible that the knife you are using could damage the surface you are cutting the cork on. Thus you should always place a cutting board beneath your clamped cork, or cut your corks on a table specifically outfitted for wood cutting.
Method 3: Cut Your Corks on End
Some corks are flat enough that you can stand them on end to cut them. This is more difficult to do than to cut them lying down, but it can be done—especially when you buy craft store corks that are more universal in shape and size.
How to Make Wine Cork Crafts
Step 1: Find the Craft You Want to Make
Before starting, you will want to have the craft you want to make on hand.
Step 2: Gather the Materials for Your Wine Cork Crafts
Most crafts require more than just wine corks. Take the time to gather the extra materials, such as glue, paint, ribbon, and whatever else you may need. It is always worthwhile to buy a little extra in case there are any mistakes along the way.
Step 3: Cover the Surface to Prepare to Make Wine Cork Crafts
Since wine cork crafts typically require gluing or painting, you will want to protect your work surface. You can do this using paper, a table cloth, or a plastic tarp for larger projects.
Step 4: Create Your Wine Cork Crafts Craft
You are all set to begin. Follow the directions of the craft you have chosen, and in no time at all, you will have an awesome wine cork craft.
Fun DIY Projects Using Your Old Wine Corks
1. Spooky Wine Stoppers
For this little project, you don’t even have to repurpose the wine corks. They can still be used for the same purpose, they’ll just look a little different.
The idea is to give them a Halloween-inspired makeover by adding little Jack-o-lanterns made of plastic on top of each cork and turning them into spooky wine stoppers. It’s a fun and simple project that can be done by the kids as well.
2. A Cork Trivet
If you by any chance have a bunch of wine corks and a desire to make something out of them, an idea can be to craft a cork trivet like the one featured on DIYs. For this, you’ll first have to cut each cork in half.
A total of 35 corks were used in this particular case. After they were cut in half, they were all arranged in a hexagon shape and glued together, then aluminum foil tape was added around the edge.
3. A Cork Monogram
In case you’re in the mood to make something decorative, how about a cork monogram? Depending on the letter you choose, you’ll have to figure out how many corks you’re going to need for this project. this lovely M featured on diys uses a total of 115 corks for example.
The rest of the supplies needed for this project include a hot glue gun, acrylic craft paint in any colors you like, a paintbrush, and a letter printout.
4. DIY Champagne Cork Place Card Holders
Champagne corks are perfect for making place cardholders because of their shape and the fact that they’re more sturdy and stable compared to wine corks. To turn them into place card holders all you need to do is paint them and then cut a little slit into the top of each one so you can insert the card in there.
You can use metallic spray paint to make them look stylish and elegant but you can also choose to decorate them in other ways
5. A Candle Ornament for Your Christmas Tree
A creative mind can find all sorts of interesting uses for something as simple and as basic as a wine cork. For example, there’s a little project idea on crayonsandcravings that shows how a cork can be used to make a candle ornament for the Christmas tree.
It’s a really simple and cute project for which you need a few supplies such as yellow pipe cleaners, red ribbon, a thin pine garland, and red craft foam.
6. Tiny Cacti Planters
Here’s a really cute little project that you can make with wine corks: tiny cacti planters.
You need a few things for this such as white cardstock, wine corks, clear tape, and sketch pens in green, pink, and black. There’s probably a bunch more different ways in which you could make something like this so have fun exploring.
7. DIY Wine Corks Centerpiece
Wine corks themselves can look quite nice, especially when you have a bunch of them together. You can take a few and put them in clear glass containers like jars or vases. Add some string lights in there so there’s also a bit of lighting involved and these can be your new table centerpieces.
They could also look nice as decorations on shelves, nightstands, or desks.
8. Cork DIY Kitchen Utensil Holder
Because wine corks look rather nice and interesting as they are, without the need to paint or change them in any way, you can use them as decorations and supplies for a lot of DIY crafts and projects. One idea is to take an empty metal can and glue a bunch of wine corks onto it so the metal is all hidden.
You can then use this as a storage container, a vase, a planter, or a utensil holder in the kitchen.
9. Wine Cork Flower Wreath
We love wreaths and all the quirky ways in which they can be made. It’s no surprise that wine corks can also be used to make beautiful and interesting wreaths. Of course, if you want to try this project yourself, you’re going to need a whole lot of wine corks.
Group them up into sets of five and glue them together to make flowers. Paint them and decorate them, then glue them all onto a circular wreath from which you can make out of plywood or thick cardboard.
10. Wine Cork Pumpkin
You can also arrange a bunch of wine corks in such a way that they resemble a pumpkin. You can make wine cork pumpkins of different shapes and sizes and use them as decorations around the house.
It’s a nice project for fall or Halloween specifically and there are lots of different ways in which you can personalize your pumpkins if you want to.
11. Mini Christmas Tree Ornaments
All you really need to make these cute Christmas tree ornaments are wine corks, twine, and a glue gun. Each ornament resembles a miniature Christmas tree and is made out of 11 wine corks, one for the trunk and the rest for the canopy.
12. Sparkling Wine Cork Star Ornament
It was made using the following supplies: 103 wine corks, a glue gun, white acrylic paint, matte mod podge, glitter, and a paintbrush.
It’s not a difficult project but it does take a bit of time and patience in order to get it right. Of course, if you want to you can swap the white paint with a different color.
13. DIY Wine Cork Crafts Decorations
Wine corks can also be used to decorate various existing items like a frame for example. For instance, if you have a framed mirror or a painting or picture you can go ahead and glue a few wine corks onto the frame itself or around it in a pattern in order to give it a simple and effective makeover.
The corks can be painted first if you want to add some color to the design, although their natural look suits them really well.
14. DIY Cork Christmas Tree
Start with a cardboard cone and glue wine corks around the whole surface in layers so you cover it all out. Add ribbon, lights, and everything else you want to make your cork tree look extra pretty and festive.
15. A Cork Ball Decoration
This right here is a cork ball, something that you can use as a decoration and have displayed on a shelf, a mantel, up in a Christmas tree, and so on. It’s quite abstract which is why it’s also very versatile.
To make it, start with styrofoam or a paper mache ball. Take some wine corks (around 60) and a hot glue gun and attach them to the ball one by one as explained in the tutorial from sometimes-homemade.
16. DIY Wine Cork Vases
Using wine corks to decorate existing items and accessories is quite easy. One strategy is to glue the corks around the outside of a particular item like a vase for example.
That way you cover up the vase and make it look as if it’s made of wine corks only. That works particularly well with transparent glass vases.
17. A Chandelier Made from Wine Corks
You can even make more complex things out of wine corks, such as a chandelier for instance.
There’s no actual light fixture involved in this case and this is only meant to serve as a decoration. However, there are definitely ways in which you can use wine corks to decorate a functional chandelier or a lamp for example.
