Wine corks are among the most versatile materials for craft projects. No wonder! They have a wonderful texture and add a touch of nature to any room. Plus, they are readily available and easy to work with. Make sure you are working with real corks, not the plastic substitute.
Keychains: Cork keychains are simple to make. You need a screw eye and a key ring. If you want to, you can secure beads and charms to the other end of the cork with a head pin. Cork keychains come with an added benefit: it will keep your key afloat if you drop it into a pool or ocean. (This probably will not work if you attach more than one key.)
Placeholders: Just flatten one side of the cork with a sharp knife, make a cut on the opposite side, and there you have it, a quirky corky placeholder.
Garden markers: Markers take the guessing game out of gardening, and one of the best ways to organise your garden is by repurposing some old corks. They also add a decorative touch.
Mini plant holders: Air plants do not need much. An old wine cork will do just fine for them!
Pen holders: Make a pen holder by gluing together a bunch of corks, or carve a hole into several corks to fashion them into individual pen holders.
Coasters and trivets: Arrange the corks upright in the desired shape, making sure that they all are the same height (if not, use a sharp knife). Then glue them together with strong glue, starting from the middle. Sand both sides to make sure they are smooth and flat and finish off by gluing a decorative ribbon around the object. Use the glue that can withstand high heat if you plan to put hot pots onto your cork trivet (hot glue gun is not recommended).
Bathroom mats: A wine cork mat provides a soft and warm surface to step onto when you get out of the shower. It is also easy to make. Just fill a shadow box with a bunch of corks of the same height, using glue to secure them in place. Another method is to cut each cork in half lengthwise and glue the flat side onto a non-adhesive and non-slip sheet of rubber or PVC (such as a shelf liner) with glue or, even better, a hot glue gun.
There are many more things you can make with wine corks, such as Christmas ornaments, bulletin boards and picture frames. Start collecting those corks and give wings to your imagination! And when you amass a heap of cork artefacts, why not sell them in the bidorbuy finished crafts section.
