Have you ever enjoyed a bottle of wine with loved ones, and then kept the cork as a memento? Well, we've done that for every bottle of wine for the past 2 years and collected them in a huge, tall, clear vase - which was now overflowing. (We weren't kidding when we said during the last post that we loved red wine!) So I decided to make a corkboard out of them.
First, I sorted the corks by size (small, large, and miscellaneous for odd-sized corks). This made it easier to match and fit the corks on the board. There were almost 200 corks!
Then I refashioned this Ikea frame (the glass had broken) by turning it backwards (so I had the deeper area to fit the corks). I fitted a row of corks (in a 2 by 2 pattern) before glue-gunning them.
While putting this board together, it was fun thinking back on the memories associated with the corks. There was the trip to the wineries in the Niagara region, Napa, and Temecula (where we got married!) I smiled remembering how we stuffed ourselves silly at Bottega, Cyrus, Zuzu, Auberge du Soleil, Oxbow Food Market, and The French Laundry during our honeymoon. And I made sure to include our treasured French Laundry clothes pins on the board.
I loved how the board turned out (I ended up using 197 corks, including beer and champagne corks plus the 2 French Laundry clothes pins). I haven't tried using it as a cork board yet (I like the way it looks uncluttered by bills and notes). And yes, we're working on the next board! =)
Beautiful creation!
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool way to preserve your memories.
ReplyDeleteThis is so clever, Andrea! And beautiful. Wonderful post x
ReplyDeleteThanks Tammy!
ReplyDeleteThanks BCGW!
ReplyDeleteI luv this idea. I have corks in all kinds of silly places but not displayed like this. It will definitely bring back good memories of travels and dinners enjoyed with beautiful company and wine. Thanks for a great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy! All of those wine tastings came in handy! =)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Cristina! It made for a lovely surprise and a great conversation piece in the living room!
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful cork board. A smaller version of this would make nice trivets. A great way to preserve your memories.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Joanne
looks like a great idea u got there! I gotta start collecting nowwww
ReplyDeletehave a lovely day
jen
That's a great idea Joanne! Trivets and even coasters would be much quicker projects.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen! Collecting (or drinking wine) is the fun and easy part! =)
ReplyDeleteI have one of those! My friend made it for me!
ReplyDeleteha! This is such a fun, quirky piece to add to your home. Way to reuse and recycle.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! It was a labour of love! =)
ReplyDeleteA pretty work of art! We save all of our corks in a huge shadow box that hangs on the kitchen wall. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we collect more like 500 a year. Last year I drilled holes in some and strung them with big bright beads for Christmas garland. We're getting married in October at a winery, so I have fashioned a big heart our of them (pink/red/purple ends up) and photographed it so that the image can be used for thank you cards, table cards, etc. Funny how I want to save each and every cork as a momento of a sweet time each day, as you say. I'll email you photos!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam! You and I think alike! We also got married in wine country (wine stoppers were our favor), but your cork ideas sound so creative and personal! Yes, please email me photos and I'll upload them to our Facebook fan page so everyone can see!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea! Isn't wonderful to be able to pick up a cork and think about the dinner / celebration it was affiliated with?
ReplyDeleteThanks Christine! I loved thinking about our good times with wine and am impressed by how my hubby can remember each and every bottle associated with the corks.
ReplyDeleteThis is so creative! And perfect "foodie art"!
ReplyDeleteThanks Scandifoodie! It's the nicest way I can play with my "food"! =)
ReplyDeleteI love this! It looks so good on your wall. We haven't ever saved our corks, but it makes me want to. I especially love how the French Laundry pins are in there. I gotta figure out what to do with mine!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have enough corks to make the wall fixture, you can make coasters or trivets that are smaller and the corks can surround the French Laundry pins. Another idea is to make up your own French Laundry collage with the pins, photos, and menu and frame it, perhaps in a shadow box.
ReplyDeleteI love how your cork board turned out! I've always wanted to make one, but I haven't been drinking enough wine. I think you've inspired me to drink more. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt looks cool, you could just use it for art pice in the bar or kitchen/dinning/entertaining area in your home.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! It was really easy to make (and gives me an excuse to drink more wine to make the next one!)
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI - my friend is currently making a cork"trivet" for hot kettles, tea pots, etc - she too has a TON of them, but she showed me that corks now come in a type of rubber or foam as well, which would melt from the heat. Make sure if you are making the same project that you separate the two types to avoid melting your beautiful creation! I wish that I enjoyed drinking wine because this is such an INCREDIBLE piece of artwork and a BEAUTIFUL way to preserve wonderful memories, not to mention a great way to recycle - nice job, Andrea!
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