Cork is a natural material that acts as a surface protector and is great for absorbing moisture.  Cork trays, trivets and large coasters make great table top plant stands.

Some gardeners use wine cork as their gardening pots!  Corks make tiny gardens for succulents and air plants.

Cork Garden by 4th Ave. Gardens

Cork Air Plant Terrarium by eGarden Studio

Wine corks can be turned into adorable garden markers!

Here’s a cork garden marker tutorial by Country Woman Magazine (It’s so easy you really don’t need a tutorial).

Other wine cork tips for gardening:

~ Wine corks can be used as mulch in potted plants or small beds. Cork is a natural product, so it will break down over time.

~ Put corks on the ends of prickly cactus when little ones are around. Or place corks on the ends of sharp tools like a pitch fork.

~ Used wine corks can be glued to old gardening pots and planters for a fresh new look.

~ Turn your wine corks into a bird house!

See you next week with some indoor wine corking ideas.

Thanks, Bee

How to Make Wine Cork Magnets

Materials needed:

Oak Wine Corks

Drill

Glue

Magnets

This is a messy project because of the cork that will be removed with the drill, so I would definitely cover an area, or do this project outside.  Let’s get started…

First decide which side of your oak cork you would like to be the front of the magnet.   You will drill a hole for the magnet on the opposite side.  The size of the drill bit doesn’t really matter (unless it is better than your magnet).  You are going to use the drill to dig out a shallow hole the size of the magnet.

Don’t worry the holes don’t have to be perfectly circular or anything special.  As you dig out the cork with the drill you can stop and check to see if the magnet is fitting.  You want the magnet to fit in flush with the cork.  If you drill or dig too deeply into the cork, don’t worry either, that’s what the glue is for.  I use both sides of an old paint brush to help get extra pieces of cork out of the way as I’m drilling.

Magnets

There are several magnets you can use. I selected Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets, size 3/8 x 1/16.  I purchased a set from a cute little Etsy shop.  Each little magnet can pull a little over 2 pounds and holds down several sheets of paper .  What is important in magnet selection, is that they are stronger enough to hold what you would like, and small enough to fit nicely into your cork.

Glue

Now, we are ready to glue.  I would recommend an industrial strength glue, like E-6000.  It dries clear and is strong enough to hold the magnet to the cork while it is in use. I also like it because E-6000 is waterproof, non-flammable and washes off my hands easily.  Just fill the drilled hole with glue and place the magnet in the center.  If some glue oozes out or gets on the magnet, don’t worry it will peel off the metal when it is dry.

It is important to note here that the magnets will attract to each other while you are doing this project.  Once glue has entered the picture, I would keep the corks with magnets drying in them, far away from other corks with magnets drying in them!  I used some wood molding sticks to separate them, but you can use plates, cups, Tupperware, anything that would help separate the corks while keeping them face down to dry.  E-6000 recommends you let the glue dry 24-72 hours. I found after 24 hours all was dry and ready for use.

This project allows you to showcase special wine corks. Like corks that are from a rare bottle of wine on a special anniversary, or unique corks that have pretty markings.  I like to use oak wine corks that have natural wine staining on the ends.

Happy Crafting!

And of course, if you would like to me to make you a set, just hop on over to our shop!

With just days until Christmas we are all ready and super excited for our Christmas company to arrive!  I hope you have found time to craft this holiday season.  We wanted to share a few crafty things new and old.

Our neighbor didn’t want the above pictured snowman bags anymore, so we filled them with wine corks and hung them in the dining room for a little extra decorating!  I’ll have to add another line to my ever growing list of wine cork uses… stuffing.  Yes, leftover wine corks make great stuffing for decorations.  We could have stuffed them with more corks, and they would have been able to stand up themselves.  We decided to hang them for space.  Additionally, the corks were a great size for my two year to help stuff. She loves our new “noman” decorations.

This year, one blog subscriber made wine cork trees from last year’s craft post.

Another subscriber made our upcycle gift bows (and won our gift tag contest).

This month our holiday craft tutorials have been featured on this Florida blog:

Wine Cork Garland

Wine Cork Trees

Magnolia Wreaths

AND we are featured in an awesome little interview! Check out our answers on nash pop!

I hope you have found some time to create and share this busy holiday season.

Happy Crafting, Bee

Here’s a few custom frames we recently did…

Our client was looking for beachy crackled frames to fit these vintage posters:

Online inventory numbers have been low as we try to replenish what has been sold.  We sold out of DIY bulletin boards by the end of November and now have a few more back in stock! A new batch of reclaimed coasters, in a new style and color, will be available online this weekend as well!

Other shop news:

Daytona Etsy Shop SALE! Today is the last day to save 10% off your order! Check out this Winter Green Sale Collection for a sample of items available at participating Daytona shops and enter coupon code DaytonaEtsy10 at checkout. Offer ends at midnight 12/9/11.

Our wine cork tutorial was featured here on Florida Etsy Street Team on 12/4. We are excited to have our shop on the front page of this site all month long!!!

And finally, don’t forget our free gift wrapping offer!

Happy Holidays and many thanks for all the love the shop has gotten this season!

Bee

Enter coupon code CYBERMONDAY

for 25% off your entire order!

Offer good Monday, November 28th ONLY. Enter code at checkout. Not applicable on custom orders.

Other Wooden Bee Happenings to report:

~We only have 3 of 5 holiday ornaments still available (above), and they have only been available since the 19th of November!

~Limited Time $5 SHIPPING SALE on Select Items

~We were excited to be featured in this article:  Turn Your Corks Into Home Décor

~We have a new Pinterest board: Wine Corks It features a ton of wine corking ideas!

Lastly, we have a great article on Upcycled Gift Wrap out, with a little giveaway to help you get started!

Happy Monday,

Bee

I love to make wine cork garland. It’s a quick and classy way to decorate for a special occasion.  At home I use it for anniversaries and adult birthdays. In our shop, I use it to decorate our vendor space and for our DIY craft parties.  I think it would look fabulous on our Christmas tree this year…if I can get around to making enough!

Below, I used some wine cork garland on a window doorway at one of our DIY craft parties.  I hung five double sided square chalkboards from the garland, that read CRAFT on one side and PARTY on the the other.

I thought I’d share some how-to tips for making wine cork garland.

What you need:

oak wine corks

ribbon, yard, or twine

drill, optional

beads, optional

For the garland twine I normally use natural jute or hemp. I find the cost is much less than ribbon or yarn. I also like the width & stiffness of the twine to allow for easy threading.  However, I have used yarn, tied up scraps of ribbons, and recycled fishing line to make pretty wine cork garlands.

First determine how long you would like your wine cork garland to be, and then add four feet to your measurement.  If I wanted an 8 foot garland, I would cut a 12 foot piece of twine.  I would leave two feet on each side to allow extra twine for tying it up, for knots, etc.

You can drill holes in your wine corks either vertically and horizontally. Find a drill bit a size or two larger than the width of your twine.  It will make it easier to thread the twine through the corks.  Moving the drill bit in & out while drilling will help clear the holes of extra cork as well.

Decide your garland pattern based on your materials. For an 8 foot garland I would recommend having 35-40 wine corks. You can scale up or down from there. I think my eight foot garland has been a great length for several different uses.  Anything under 6 ft seems too short, unless you want a mini garland for the archway of an inside doorway, or some other specific space.  The garland below has a cork, three wooden beads, cork pattern. The colors of the beads varied.  Remember to start your pattern in two feet from the end of your twine.

Wine cork garland is always fun to hang things from as well.  Mistletoe at the holidays, letters and signs at special occasions.  We hung Christmas cards on them one year.  If you would like to hang heavier objects like wooden letters, or mini chalkboards like we did, then small ornaments hooks work the best!!! I have tried several methods and good ole ornament hooks work great! They hook and stay in place without sliding between corks, etc.  We use these hooks, purchased for a great price, from Cathy’s Unique Creations.

No Drill Option

So, if you don’t have a drill, or want to make a cork garland while sitting and watching TV, just tie the corks to the garland!

I would cut TWICE as much twine as what you want the length of the garland to be doing it this way.  If there is extra is it better to cut it off than to run short at the end.  Again, design your pattern and when you get to the cork, wrap the twine around the cork a few times, tie a knot, and continue.  In the beginning, tying the knots with the long piece of twine will take extra time and care. As you get to the end it will get shorter and easier.  Just think you didn’t have to sit there and drill hole after hole though.

Storing your Garland Tangle Free

You can use discarded paper towel or gift wrapping rolls to store your garlands in between uses.  Cut two small slits in each end of the cardboard roll.  Insert one end of the twine in a slit, and then wrap the garland around the roll and secure the other end of the twine in the second slit.

I am continuing to experiment with coloring corks.  I hope to be blogging about colored wine cork garland soon! Until then, check out my Pinterest Board for more wine cork garland photos. It’s a virtual bulletin board dedicated to fabulous photos and uses of wine corks!!!

Happy Crafting!

Make Your Own Wine Cork Tacks

Check out this fun idea I had to reuse wine corks as thumbtacks! I think they look super cute on our Upcycled Bulletin Boards too!

What you need:

• oak wine corks or oak champagne corks
• drill
• glue
• thumbtacks
• hand saw, optional

First decide how you want your corks to look.  You can drill the holes in any side or end of the corks. You can also cut the corks down or in half. This is done best with a small hand saw or knife.

Choose a drill bit that is close to the size of your thumbtack and start drilling. You only want to drill deep enough for the head of your thumbtack to slide into the cork.  Try comparing the length of the tack, to the length of your bit & see where to stop.  Slightly rotating the drill bit in circles will help remove the cork pieces & increase the hole in size for a better fit, if needed. You might want to practice on a cork to get a feel for drilling.

Place small amouont of glue in the hole & then push in thumbtack. Let dry 24 hours. We use craft glue & clear thumbtacks.

If you aren’t into using a drill or would like to purchase some, we have a few sets of wine cork tacks available on our Etsy shop.

Happy Crafting!

After many suggestions & encouragement from our customers & friends, we are going to start posting our crafting ideas on our blog as well!  So, here is our first holiday craft of the season!  Special thanks to my artist friend Jami J. for her inspiration!

Materials:
__paper craft cone ( 11” or 14” height)
__wine corks (either synthetic, oak or both)
__strand of Christmas lights (battery operated or plugin)
__mini tree topper star
__hot glue gun

First, decide what size cone you would like to use for your tree. The number of wine corks available to you can help determine the size. When using the smaller 11”cones, you will need about 50 wine corks per tree. The larger 14” cones will take at least 100 wine corks. Once you have determined the size, you have some options on the material of the cone.  We prefer the paper cone because it is the color of the wine corks, should you not cover every spec of surface with the wine corks.  We also like the paper cone because it is hollow & allows you to hide the battery box so the lit tree can be put anywhere!  The other cone material available is Styrofoam. Styrofoam cones allow you to easily pin the lights to the surface & are offered in much larger sizes should you have hundreds of corks to use. However, they are not as environmentally friendly as paper.

After, you have purchased your cone, put on your star topper & get ready for the lights.  You can use white lights or colored lights. Most battery operated light strands have only 10-12 lights per strand & I would only use them for the smallest of the paper craft cones. If you are using the 14” cone for your tree, around 30 lights would be best.  Remember to leave a little extra cord at the bottom, either to tuck under the cone or to reach the wall outlet.  Start your light strand at the top, evenly wrapping the lights on the cone.  With the paper cone you can use tape to hold the light strand in place as you wrap the lights (this also allows you to re-position them as you glue your corks if needed).  I like to leave a little extra give when wrapping, so that when I am gluing the corks on I can move the lights to fit into place perfectly.

When your glue gun is hot & ready, start applying your wine corks at the bottom of the cone. Make sure to glue them so that you still keep a nice level surface for the tree to sit on.  I start the corks at the bottom but then I jump to the top & then fill in the middle.  There is no pattern, put the corks everywhere & anywhere as you are covering the surface of the cone.  A second layer of wine corks will help cover any gaps or holes & the Christmas lights will stick out through the layered corks. I have even had to add a third layer to the base of the tree to help keep the tree shape.  You will have to hold the corks in place for 20-30 seconds sometimes, especially when you are gluing cork to cork.

If you would like to add a little extra jazz to your wine cork Christmas tree, cut acrylic paint with blending gel (or water) & paint your wine corks before starting! Cutting or diluting the paint allows the designs on the wine corks to still show but adds a little color to the cork. I chose to dye only some of my oak wine corks on this tree…green & red wine to add the perfect Christmas colors. You can paint synthetic corks but I would only recommend the oak.

Please feel free to email, thewoodenbee@gmail.com, with any questions (& send pictures of your wine cork tree creations)! One of the things I liked about this craft, is it allows you some play & creativity so each tree is unique.

Our next crafting blog will be a magnolia cone wreath! Our daughter is thrilled to help with this, since she’s been collecting the magnolia cones on our nature walks all year long!

Happy Crafting!

~Bee