Do you toss your wine corks after the bottle’s empty? Or stash them in a drawer for half-empty bottle stopping emergencies? Whether you already have a surplus or are just starting your collection, there are lots of creative and functional uses for used wine corks. Of course, not every cork craft is a keeper. To save you some time, we’ve combed through countless projects, compiling a collection of only the best for you to test out in your own home.
Cute coasters: For dinner party mavens looking to enhance the vogue factor of their gatherings (and who need a use for all those leftover wine corks), Mayi Carles’ Heartmade Blog features step-by-step photo instructions for making coasters with recycled wine corks. The only tools necessary are the corks, a hot glue gun, a knife and some cork paper. A simple project that will add some flare to your next dinner party, these coasters look great when paired with a glass of your favorite Northwest-made red or white.
Cunning knives: We all know cheese and wine are better when enjoyed together. While the flavors tend to speak for themselves, enhance your pairing by amplifying the aesthetic by accessorizing with tools that reflect the symbiotic relationship shared between this pair. Yarni Gras’! tutorial for wine cork canapé knives illustrates how you can easily and elegantly update your old spreaders. An old canapé knife set, some corks and pliers are all you’ll need to complete this project. However, make sure that the canapé set you use has handles that you will be able to deconstruct easily with pliers.
Place holders: Another great project for parties is to use old corks as festive place holders for the dinner table. Use a pen to write individual guest names on each cork, insert a skewer and place the cork into a decorative memento that guests can take home. An added bonus: not only does this craft require minimal corks (depending on the size of your party), but it is also versatile—The Happier Homemaker features a similar scheme where the corks are re-purposed as plant markers. With spring nearing and gardeners planning creative ways to display their flora, this project is a simple and creative way to fancify your garden.
Stylish magnets: If you can’t wait for April to start sowing your seeds, It All Started With Paint features a project for Wine Cork Magnet Planters that is simple, colorful and a great way to add some life to your home. Using cored out wine corks as planters, simply adhere a magnet to one side of the cork, fill with potting soil, plant a “hard-to-kill” succulent in the soil and voila!—you have a beautiful, miniature potted plant to display on your refrigerator or any magnetized piece of metal in your home.
With so many ways to utilize these stoppers, you may find yourself throwing more parties in order to collect more corks. And who knows, maybe these projects will even inspire some of your own, original blog-worthy wine cork projects.
