Wine Cork Projects

Wine corks can transform any boring or plain object into a beautiful decorative piece! While wandering around Michael's one afternoon, I decided to pick up a few plain wood objects. One was a mirror, and the other was a small box.

For the mirror, I cut the corks in half length wise so they would lay flat on the surface. It took a while to figure out how to get them to fit because the mirror was a little too wide. I laid all the corks out first and realized there was no way to fill all the wood with  corks alone. I picked up a bag of glass marble stones ( I think that's what they are called) and used those around the inside to fill in the extra space. They worked perfectly and added a little burst of color to the mirror. I used hot glue to get everything to stay on. Just be careful hot gluing the glass marbles because they do heat up quick.

The box seemed to be made just for wine cork decoration! The cut corks fit on there pretty easily. Again, I just cut the corks in half with a razor blade and laid them out, then hot glued them into place. Just make sure you leave room for the lock so that it can be easily opened and closed.

This box was one of my favorite projects because I thought it turned out awesome & it is useful! I gave it as a Christmas present and two small bottles of wine fit perfectly in there. (The single glass bottles).

Another thing that is very simple to make is wine cork picture frames. When picking out a frame, look for ones that are flat wood so that the corks can lay flush on the surface.

I used a 4X6 frame and this project only took about 25 minutes start to finish. The longest part is cutting the corks in half. Once that is done, just lay them out to make sure they fit & then hot glue them on!

The frames are a really easy project, only require about 6 corks & also make great presents!

Loom Knitting Headbands & Leg Warmers

Knitting headbands & legwarmers on the loom is just as easy as making a hat! The only difference is at the end when you cast off. For an adult size headband, use the same size loom you would use for a hat. Cast on as you normally would and  knit down about 9 inches (more or less depending on how big you want your headband).

Once you have this done, pull the bottom loops back onto the pegs and knit them together.( Pull the bottom row over the top)

Once you have done this, cut off about a foot and a half of yarn and attach it to your needle. Starting at your first peg, wrap the yarn around and pull the bottom over the top. Then take your needle and put it through the yarn on the peg, releasing it from the peg. Wrap the yarn around the next peg & repeat all the way around, releasing each loop from the peg as you go. 

Once your headband is free from the pegs, sew a knot into the bottom and cut off any extra yarn. Your headband is complete!

I have found that super bulky yarn works the best because it stretches less & fits better because of how thick it is. 

To make leg warmers, use a small 24 peg loom. Knit as normal until they are the desired length. Use the same cast off technique as you would with the headband. I made mine about 14" and they go from my ankle to an inch under my knee. I wear them with leggings and boots; they're really cute and warm!

Making a Wine Cork Wreath

Wine cork wreaths are awesome because you can keep them up year round! Adding bows, flowers, ornaments, or whatever you want can keep them festive for any season. Things that you need to make the wreath are:

• Wine corks. A lot of wine corks. (around 150ish I'd say)
• Hot glue. (I used at least 25 mini sticks)
• A plain straw wreath
• String
• Bows/flowers for decoration 

I used a straw wreath as a base, but it was a little messy. I think using a styrofoam circle as a base might be easier. You can buy these wreaths at craft stores, I think I paid around $6.

Make sure you take the plastic off of it, but do not cut the twine. Use a sturdy string and tie it around the top before you start with the corks.

I work at a seafood/ steakhouse restaurant where we sell a lot of wine. I also have friends and family save their corks for me too. ( use your resources for finding corks! make friends with a bartender & have them save their corks for you!) Since I get most of mine from the restaurant, I have a lot of  the same corks. I separated the really cool & unique ones to the side and used the more plain and repeat ones at the beginning.

I didn't take pictures as I was making this wreath, but you'll be able to see in the pictures the pattern I followed/ made up. I started on the inside of the wreath, stacking the corks on top of each other. Once I got to the top, I just started gluing like crazy in every direction just to cover up all the straw.

It is tricky trying to get them to fit nicely by each other, so just be patient and play around with it.

After I had a pretty good base layer, I added on the cool corks that I set aside earlier and placed them wherever they could be seen. I pretty much only used one layer of corks and it turned out great! Once all the corks were in place, I lightly glued some flowers in and it was ready to  be hung.

This is the finished product! Except one of the flowers is M.I.A...I didn't want to glue them in with too much glue, because I want to be able to take them out and put other decorations on. Bows, ornaments and ribbons would all look great, too! Cheers.

Loom knitting different color hats

Now that you've mastered the basic loom knit hat, you'll be happy to know that it's easy to jazz them up into different patterns. To add stripes, simply cut your first color of yarn and double knot it onto a new skein of a different color yarn. Knit 3-5 rows, depending on how thick you want the stripes, and alternate until the hat is finished.

For the hat above, I didn't count consistently so the stripes came out uneven. I think it still looks good, but I wish I would have been more precise. 

Using two different colored yarns is also a cool way to make hats unique. For this one I used a bulky purple and then regular Red Heart white. Combining the two makes for a cool pattern. Just tie them together and use the two strands as one.

Using one color for the brim and another color for the top of the hat turns out nicely, too. The top right I used a camouflage yarn on the brim and hunters orange for the top. My dad is a hunter & absolutely loves it!  

This hat I made with the Detroit Lion's colors for a friend. Using multiple colors is a great way to show support for your favorite teams! Have fun and get creative with different colors and yarn types.