Using wine corks in craft projects is almost as common as Mason jars. Seriously, type “wine cork crafts” into Pinterest and you’ll see. It’s a whole thing. We drink and use wine in cooking at our house pretty often, so I’ve hoarded a fairly decent collection of corks over the past few years. And this, coupled with my growing obsession to personalize my desk area at work, lead me to start scheming about making a bulletin board out of wine corks.
Recently I’ve started taping up lists and reminders above my desk. Which looks, well, sort of junky. So I knew a bulletin board would come in handy.
I wanted to keep it simple, so I simply purchased a shadow box (on sale!) from a craft store in order to house my corks. I started to fill up the shadow box and quickly realized I didn’t have nearly enough corks. Dang it!
Thank goodness for eBay. I ended up needing right around 170 corks to fill the 12″ x 12″ shadow box I had.
The shadow box had a black backing, so first I glued in a piece of white foam. I was concerned that the black would show through once I had all the corks in place. But it ended up not mattering much. You can’t see the back once all the corks are glued in.
I also recommend using some kind of super glue or other quick-dry heavy duty glue. I plan to push and pull tacks from these corks, so I want them to stay in place!
Once I had glued in all the corks, I decided to paint a few of the ends different colors. I like the overall rustic look, but the deep red/purple ends that a few of the corks had (from wine) didn’t really match the aesthetic of my desk area. So I just brushed on a few different colors of craft paint.
Although I could have easily just bought a small bulletin board for my desk area, I love the personality and color that this one brings to my space. What about you, have you ever made a project from wine corks? Thanks for letting me share! xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
72 Comments
I think something like this, maybe on a smaller scale, would be a great present for someone. Maybe add a small chalkboard beside it, in the shadow box, to make it a message center. Oh boy! the ideas are flowing! thanks for the inspiration!
So cute!!
I am DYING to know when your ABM products will be released. I need a planner designed by you guys! 🙂
I love it!. I might make one with corks as well, but I might cut mine in half so I can use them for other projects or so that I have enough to make one of a descent size like yours <3 . 🙂
love love love this. I have always wanted to make one but agree, sometimes the wine soaked corks just don’t work. I love the idea of adding some color to it. will be making this!
So cute…. gonna have to do this!
I’m obsessed with this! I love how it’s natural and graphic at the same time.
This is so cute! My husband’s uncle likes to craft, and he once made us a trivet with wine corks. He just took an 8×10 picture frame, removed the glass, and glued the back down (or maybe he used a separate piece of masonite?). Then he glued down the corks long-ways. He cut a cork into slices and used them as feet under the trivet. So many ideas…
OMG a small chalkboard would look so pretty!
I love this project, unfortunately I don’t have a collection of wine corks, but I could always start it… 🙂
Question: How long have you had this? My experience with wine corks has been negative, a family friend made a wine cork trivet and the corks are always coming un-done. Perhaps they didn’t use the same glue? Just wondering since I’ve always love that trivet but thought it was a bit “high maintenance” with the corks falling out and what-not.
Overall another lovely project 🙂 Thanks!
Stay tuned next week….. 🙂
Was that coy? I’m totally trying to be.
-Emma
I like it. Do you have a method for cutting them in half easily? I tried this once and I thought it was a real pain but I bet there’s a trick to it.
-Emma
What a crafty uncle-I love that idea. 🙂
-Emma
Really?! Well that’s a bummer to hear. I’ve only had mine for about 2 weeks now. And so far so good. But if it turns out to not hold up you’ll likely see an update to this post, or we’ll do another “How did it hold up” round up of DIYs.
-Emma
i’ve been trying to figure out what to do with some of my “special occasion” corks! but seems like i’ll have to consume a lot more to complete this project, ha ha 🙂
I love this idea for a study or even a dorm room http://thatsmagsforyou.com
This looks so cute, and so doable! I think it’s the coloured pieces that really make it amazing. Love it! XO, Sarah
I’m looking forward to it! 🙂
That’s such a great idea! x
http://www.wild-cherrytree.com
What a great idea! I have so many wine corks and don’t know what to do with them. Now I know! =)
Super cute and this is such a good idea! Your photos are super pretty too 🙂 Feel free to check out my blog I just started and it’d be nice to get your input! 🙂 http://usattractions.blogspot.com/
very useful and neat 🙂 love your ideas
xo
alysadaily.blogspot.com
I love this idea! I’ve been trying to think of a way to use my wine corks in some way. Although, like you, I’ll probably have to turn to Ebay to complete mine.
http://www.kristajacobs.blogspot.com
I’m soo in love with this one! Would really LOVE to make one myself! It’s on my to do list!
LOVE ALL YOU DIY’S.
http://wherebeautymeetsbrains.blogspot.com/
Wow! Love it! Great DIY 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
http://lifebetweenhats.blogspot.com
I’m always looking for a new wine cork idea! I love this – it would be perfect for putting recipes and notes up in my kitchen.
<3 dani
http://blog.shopdisowned.com
I love the pops of color on this! I also made a wine cork board, but I (I meaning my boyfriend) cut all the corks in half and we glued the flat sides down. It’s nice that you can read the name of the wine on the sides of the corks, but the color on yours makes it much more fun!
Sarah
Thats a really good idea!!!!
I follow you on bloglovin now, go check out my blog!
http://www.naomi-jonker.blogspot.com
This is pretty cool….
I love the simplicity yet how cute it truly is…. I think I’m going to make this for our master bedroom and use them as an art piece to put our pictures and reminders.
Thanks ladies for this awesome idea!
http://helloscar.wordpress.com
Love this bulletin board, painting few in different colors make all the difference… loving the trivet idea by a crafty uncle, and cutting the cork in half, that doubles, great ideas and DIY..
xo
Hems
agoldentulip.blogspot.com
This looks great 🙂
This is so perfect, love it
I love this idea
This looks so lovely , great idea ♡
what a cool idea! It adds so much more than just the plain cork board!
I adore this! I never keep my wine corks, but this makes me want to start. I especially love your touch of adding bright ended corks here and there. Great project!
really cool idea! But I just could not believe the number of corks you actually needed until I counted myself!
Omg this is absolutely genius! I love this. I’ve always kept my corks but never had a good idea of what to do with them. this is perfect! I suppose you could also cut them in half lengthwise and put them on like that so you could see the decor on the sides too! Beautiful!
So cute! Do you reckon you could put stud earrings into the cork or are they pretty hard? I’m trying to create a jewellery organising space and struggling to find a good way to display studs!
I have been collecting wine corks since my sophomore year of college. I was studying abroad in Berlin at the time and was collecting basically every thing I could in order to remember my experiences there (beer caps were also saved, but I ditched saving them when I went back to Minnesota). That was 8 years ago and I drink a lot of wine, so needless to say, I have A LOT of wine corks. This would be a great way to use some of them up!
This is exactly what I need to make right now!
http://imyownmuse.blogspot.com
You read my mind! This is already on the to do list!
xoxo
The Accidental Mama
http://www.theaccidentalmama.com
Wow! Very creative. It looks great!
AWESOME idea!!
Much love from
http://thedevilreturnsprada.de/
We have a giant bottle filled with the corks – I know what we will do with them. So excited! Thank you for the great idea!
Sensational project! Just love it to bits! Love the bright pops of colour too!
IF you lightly ‘spritz’ the corks with water occasionally – they won’t dry out as much and might hold on to the glue better. (Just passing on a suggestion made to me once).
This is such a cute idea, love how creative ABM Blog is. Colourful decoration as always. I just have to drink a lot of wine before I have so many corks 🙂 http://www.cinnamonetcetera.nl
That’s such a great, and simple idea! There are always wine corks lying about, so this should be easy to put together. Thanks for the idea! x
Lov the idea. I will try this for sure. A lot of drinking though hahaha! fortunately my husband and I keep all the corks from the bottles of wine we drink and store them in a glass vase.
Cute idea! I’d love to hear how this one holds up in one of those future posts.
Cute! It looks fun to put together and it’s probably even more fun collecting the corks 🙂 Can’t wait to get started…
I Love this Idea! Going to try it out!
Love this project! It’s great that you can paint the ends of the cork to match the room it’s going in.
erin // http://www.beingerin.com
You just gave me the solution I was looking for about how to hide the electrical board. This is it! Only instead of using the whole corks I will cut them in slices and glue them on the board’s door. Thanks!
It looks fantastic, especially those coloured polkadots on it!
What a good idea! I thought to make a bulletin board you would need to crush the corks. I will definitely use this as a gift for Christmas this year! Thank you for the inspiration! I’m a 12 year old and I love to make homemade gifts.
What a great idea! I will make this into a Christmas gift for someone! I’m a 12 year old and I love to make homemade gifts for people.
I love this idea! I’m 12 and I love to make gifts for people so this is perfect!
This is both beautiful and playful! I definitely want to try it!
So creative, I love it! Perfect gift idea for the holiday season!
Adore this idea! This seems like a DIY I could actually handle!
XO Chloe
A Latte Lipstick
What a great idea ! I live in Bordeaux, the city wine, I have so many corks around me!! Thank you for inspiration 😉
Gave a shout out on the blog! Too fun!
XO Chloe
A Latte Lipstick
i LOVE this idea!
xx nikki
http://www.dream-in-neon.com
So simple and so beautiful. Love it!
That’s such a creative way to decorate an office. We made a succulent terrarium to decorate our office space. Check it out on our blog!
http://alwys.me/diy1
So it looks like you did not have to cut the corks down at all to make them fit. What depth was the shadow box? I wad going to do this, and was unsure which depth would fit the corks correctly.
Hi Shannon! It’s 2.5 inches 🙂 -Jacki
Arugh! Friggin brilliant.
I put together something similar for our command center using an 8×10 picture frame. I used hot glue to glue in the corks length-wise. The board can be hung on the wall or propped up on a desk or counter. I love the colored pieces on yours. It adds so much character!
Hey! Great art! Was wondering what the size of the shadow box is? Thanks!