I have a lot of corks hanging around. When my kindergartner had to bring in 100 of something for the 100-day celebration at school, I happily suggested wine corks. In order to avoid the suggestion that my daughter was being raised by one or more winos, I thought maybe we should do something creative with the corks. A sort of stealthy-recycling-camoflage project that would distract them from wondering why we had so many wine corks in our house. So, I gave this some thought.

100-Day Project, Cork Mirror.

Cork Mirror.

We bought a simple mirror with a wide frame and glued corks all over it. Not only is it decorative, but you can use push-pins to hang jewelry from it. It is useful and my daughter has had it ever since kindergarten. This is so easy to do, and the best part is collecting the corks.

Another good use of corks is as little mini-planters. I drilled holes into the corks, cut up an old magnet, and used super glue to attach the magnet to the backside of the cork. I planted little cactus plants in the holes and stuck them on the side of my refrigerator facing the window. I now have a charming little garden in an unusual spot.

Cork planters.

Cork is valuable and has endless possibilities for any do-it-yourself-type person. I recently saw a backsplash that was “tiled” with sliced corks and then sealed. If you use the end that was in the wine, you get a nice color variation. What a great idea, especially for a bar area.

I recently saw this quirky piece of art work as well, made almost entirely from corks. This is a fun piece of found art.

Cork Art seen in Oakland, California.

Next time you uncork a bottle of wine, don’t toss the cork. Save it until you have enough corks to make a trivet or coasters, or even just to remember which wines you like. You may get inspired to use them up for something cool. Just wait and see. This is very good news if you love to drink wine, or even if you just know of someone who does.
© copyright 2012 Mariam d’Eustachio.