Top Ate Wine Cork Crafts

January 31, 2014

I enjoy wine.  I drink a substantial amount of wine.  It's rare that I meet a wine I don't like.  As you can imagine, I have quite the cork collection.  I've been saving my corks for years with the thought that, one day, I would get creative and make something with them.  I didn't have a solid idea of what I wanted to make, but nevertheless, I knew I would make SOMETHING. When Christmas rolled around this year, I wanted to acknowledge my appreciation for a couple of my good friends and family members who have been loyal blog supporters.  Some of them read and edit most posts for me, while others test my recipes and tell me about my typos! All of them provide inspiration.   

While preparing for this post by drinking lots of wine researching DIY wine cork projects, I came across hundreds of fantastic and creative ideas.  I narrowed down my search to exclude projects that would require specialized tools.  I didn't intend to go out and spend money on power tools that I would likely hurt myself using.  I also excluded crafts that could not be completed in one nap time.  My craft time is limited to my son's nap time which is about 2 1/2 hours.  Each project needed to feel approachable to me!  So, with a glass of malbec in hand (to help with the creativity, of course) and my glue gun holstered, I got to work.

Pre-Projects Cork Count: 470

Post-Crafting Cork Count: 10 (I'm working hard to replenish my stock for my next project)

Wine Cork Coasters: I made several sets of coasters for friends who frequent vineyards.  I personalized each gift by using corks from vineyards that we visited together.  

Wine Cork Key Chain Party Favor: I got this key chain as a favor at a wedding I attended a couple summers ago.  I loved it so much that I had to include it in my Top Ate!

Wine Cork Place Card Holders:  Most commonly, this wine cork craft is used as place card holders.  I've also used them to label dishes or types of wine on a buffet as seen here.

Wine Cork Mini Planters: These cork planters can hold dirt.  So, they could actually be used to start seedlings. Another option is to use them for air plants which don't require dirt and only need a quick spritz of water once per week.  They can be made as refrigerator magnets too!  Instead of gluing into a set of three, adhere a magnet to the back of each planter as seen here. Super cute!

Wine Cork Reindeer Ornament: I am loving this Christmas cuteness!

Wine Cork Wine Glass Charms: I've been looking for the perfect set of wine glass charms that aren't too cutesy.  These are so me!  I kept these for myself and used them at my recent wine tasting party!

Wine Cork Wreath: You'll need to drink enough wine for an army to complete this wreath, but actually creating it will take less time than you think.  I was able to finish it in one nap time (that's about 2 1/2 hours).

Wine Cork Bulletin Bar: This is the perfect spot to display pictures of my son and recipe clippings in my cooking queue!