Wine lovers often find that they have an abundance of wine bottle corks on their hands. You could just throw them away, but how about saving them and recycling them by turning them into something creative and new?
Wine Cork Coasters
These wine cork coasters would not only be a fun DIY project to make for yourself, but they would also be a great gift idea for family and friends.
Depending on the size you want the coaster to be, you will need approximately 20 wine bottle corks to make two coasters (you will be cutting the corks in half).
First use a sharp knife to cut the corks in half vertically. Group approximately 20 of the wine cork halves together in whatever pattern you wish (with the corks standing up, not laying down), and glue them together with a hot glue gun.
Look for some natural colored ribbon that coordinates well with the corks, and glue a piece of it around the outside of the coaster to the give coaster a more finished look.
Repeat for the second coaster.
Wine Cork Magnets
These magnets are really cute and only take a few minutes to make. All you need to make them is a handful of wine corks, a sharp knife, hot glue, and magnets.
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut each magnet in half lengthwise. Each wine cork will make two magnets.
Use the hot glue to glue a magnet to the back of each wine cork half. That’s it! The magnets are done and ready to use.
Wine Cork Bulletin Board
Wine corks make great DIY corkboards. Cut out a piece of cardboard approximately 8 1/2 x 11. You will need approximately 50 wine corks to cover the piece of cardboard.
Arrange the wine corks (laying down) on the piece of cardboard and hot glue in place. Let the glue dry and your bulletin board is done and ready to hang.
Wine Cork Plant Markers
You can make fun DIY plant markers for your garden from recycled wine corks.
Just use a felt tip pen to write the name of the herb or vegetable on the side of the wine cork. Cut a small piece of dowel or bamboo skewer to the desired length and place in the bottom of the cork. There should already be a small hole where the wine bottle opener went in.
Wine Cork Bath Mat
This is one of the most fun and creative uses for recycled wine corks. Cork is very absorbant and perfect for making a DIY bath mat.
To make a bath mat approximately 21″x14″ you will need about 100 wine corks.
You will also need a piece of the grip tight shelf liner (without holes) you can buy in rolls very inexpensively at Walmart.
Cut the shelf liner to the desired size. Next you will need to use a really sharp knife to cut all the wine corks in half lengthwise.
Next line all the wine cork halves in place on the shelf liner and glue them in place (flat side down) with hot glue. Make sure not to use glue that is water soluable since the bath mat will be getting wet.
With a little time and creativity, it’s easy to come up with uses for recycled wine corks. Try one of these fun DIY projects today and give them as gifts to family and friends, all done with wine bottle corks.
Victoria Hawke is a well-respected chef. She frequently shares her tips on food and drink blogs. Click to find wine coolers for your kitchen.
