When Emily emailed us with a great textural and natural DIY project we had to share the goods. Here’s her letter:
I really REALLY enjoy reading your blog. I’m totally hooked on it- you have so many GREAT and accomplishable ideas. I’m constantly inspired by the things that you guys create and recently I completed one of my own DIY projects: a wine cork bulletin board. It was a simple project but really rewarding. You can check out the full story here on my blog, but I wanted to share the photos with you and let you know how inspiring you are to me everyday (from painting a wall to traveling around the country with your little furbaby). Thank you very much. –Emily
Isn’t she sweet? We’re blushing over here. But on to the eye candy. First Emily used inexpensive old frames that she already had laying around:
And she painted them black just in case any of the background showed through after she glued the corks in place:
Here she is gluing everything down with a glue gun:
And here’s the gorgeous grid of DIY cork boards that Emily ended up with (on a serious budget to boot):
Didn’t she do a great job? We’re no strangers to having corks around the house for texture and a splash of natural interest so we especially love what she did because it would fit right into our home. How about you guys? Is there anyone else out there who’s thinking of trying their hand at a cork bulletin board after seeing Emily’s fantastic finished product? Tell us all about it.
Psst- Wanna see one two of our favorite cork-decorating ideas? Here’s a super speedy table setting where old collected wine corks are the star and here’s a quick and easy in-cabinet cork board that we whipped up for some great kitchen organization on a dime.
Roeshel says
So creative! It looks awesome and I love it’s functionality too! Great job Emily!
Marianne says
Hi there ! I love those wine cork crafts, and I’ve just made a quite similar bulletin board a few weeks ago. You can check it out on my blog : http://nocesdecoton.canalblog.com/archives/2010/02/03/16777885.html. Have a great day ! Here in France, we’re about to eat dinner …
Lindsay says
Cutie patootie! My brother in law did something similar for me as a Christmas present one year – easy and cheap gift idea, too! Only the corks he used were actually from our wedding, which made it even more special!!!
Love it!
Lindsay
Christin says
Love love love it! Great job – thanks for sharing Emily!
nue says
Wow, how fun and crafty Emily! Love the pic of the little dog too!!!
nue says
oh yes, and sherry i snagged your idea for the cork boards behind the cupboards–a great place to keep things!
also have some circular boards from ikea that are up in the office. love cork!
Amy says
These look great. I like that she used 3 smaller ones instead of one giant one. Any tips on where to buy corks for those of us who don’t drink wine that often?
YoungHouseLove says
We actually got a bunch of empty wine glasses from a local wine store since they do regular wine tastings (which we repurposed to serve beverages like lemonade and sweet tea at our wedding). So you could look up a few wine stores in your yellow pages or online and call them to see if they mind saving them for you (they might even do it for free). You can also google around for “corks in bulk” and look on places like ebay and maybe even craigslist. Oh and recruiting friends or family members to help you save up also can work. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Erica says
very cute idea!!!
i went to a little bistro that decorated w/wine corks. they used it as wall paneling, it was really cute, like a larger version of the frames in this post. and they also used the corks as chopstick place holders, they cut them in half and put some sort of sealant and place it under the chopsticks for the table setting. very cute!
Kristi @ Life at the Chateau Whitman says
That is very cute and creative. Do you know how she cleaned the corks before using them for this project?
YoungHouseLove says
Great question. Here’s hoping Emily stops in with that info!
xo,
s
Sarah @ Dream In Domestic says
They are literally cork boards! I love them – they add great texture and are so much more fun than a traditional cork board!
ally says
Super cute! I always love a good repurpose!
Mike at The Big Stick says
I count 55 corks per board. Given the wine consumption rate in our house I estimate it would take us around 27 years to save up enough corks for just one of those.
Or we could buy them in bulk I guess – but where’s the fun in that?
Kelly says
Great job Emily! I love it!
Those looking for corks: I have bought a few bags of corks from Micheals craft store. If you have your 40% off coupon, it can save some $$. They are located in the vase filler isle across from the fake flowers (where they sell the rocks and stuff).
YoungHouseLove says
Great tip Kelly. Thanks so much!
xo,
s
LizzieBeth says
My good friend did a very similar project! She had a night job as a bartender, so she started keeping the corks of all the wine bottles she opened, and soon she had enough for a big board!
LB
Noreen says
Perfect timing!! I just asked you guys at YHL about cork project suggestions the other day!
Maybe this is a karmic hint that I need to get out my hot glue gun for those 100’s of corks gathering dust at our house…
LizzieBeth says
@Amy- stop by a local restaurant or bar and ask them if they could save their corks for you!
becca says
i think they look great; but one suggestion. since they appear to be square, i’d maybe turn that middle one so that the corks go vertical. might give the wall just a teeny bit more visual interest.
great job!
Ashley @ Mutschler Family, Dallas Edition says
I love this! I just made the cork centerpiece for my table. I might have to try this too. Good job, Emily.
Ashley Shaunessy says
You can buy a box of corks for decoration at Target–clean and unused.
Kim at EF eDesigns says
I just did something like this as well – http://efedesigns.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/message-station/
Jaimee says
I really like how she did 3 smaller boards and made it more of an art piece. Great job!
Amy says
Thanks Kelly. I was wondering where I could get corks since I don’t think I could drink that much wine in a lifetime :)
Aimee says
Yes! We have a HUGE box of corks, and I’ve been thinking about doing this. It’s on my looooong to do list. These look great!
Malerie says
LOVE this. I’m inspired, I’m definitely going to try this! Thanks Emily- and thanks S & J for posting it!
MaryGene says
I’m totally in the process of making one of those!! Except mine’s just one bigger frame. And I still don’t have enough corks. I’m not quite a lush, but I’m drinking all the wine I can within reason!! Love it!
Suzanne says
That looks great! I’ve been wanting to do something fun with all the corks we’ve collected over the years. I’ll have to try this:)
QueenOfDiy.com says
Pretty cool, and functional.
Claire says
I have a few hundred corks that I have been collecting over the last 2.5 years or so poised and ready to be hot glued into a shadow box. I chose a shadow box because its deeper than a normal frame. I did use a 40% off coupon for the purcase of my shadow box to bring the price down considerably.
Irene says
That’s incredibly original. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like that before. Very cool!
Nancy says
I made a wreath out of wine corks to hang above our wine rack several years ago. We started saving corks to make it and then our neighbor’s little boy came over one day with a whole bag of them that he had collected for us at the Greek Festival in Richmond.
Caitlin@ That House on The Corner says
Great work! I’ve seen people make trivets in a similar fashion! Thanks for posting!
Melissa says
I bought a metal base for a trivet and used wine corks to make trivets. The kit, along with a bottle of wine, makes a great hostess gift too! Here’s what I did to make the trivet: http://oneluckycouple.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/fun-with-wine-corks/
Sara says
This is awesome! I think I’ll make one this weekend!
le banc moussu says
A hug from Paris. Your house looks great. I have to try the house tour
christian
Stephanie says
What I like about these boards is that she made three, so they look pretty all lined up on her wall.
I save corks for over three years and just made a cork wreath a couple weeks ago. It’s not perfect, but I shared some of my discoveries here: http://literallyorganized.blogspot.com/2010/02/adventures-in-wreath-making.html
amy @ all the little things blog says
love this! we throw all our corks in an apothecary jar by our sink! the other jar holds lemons/limes… and we switch that one up with different filler for the season (ornaments, etc.)…
Michelle Kersey says
A friend of mine made a cork wreath with these directions:
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/corkwreath.html
Thought it was too cute not to share!
Kelsey says
This is awesome! However, it seems that the only wine we ever buy has artificial rubber-like corks…they don’t exactly have the same appeal! Maybe next time we go wine shopping we’ll make our choices based on which ones have natural cork…
Emily says
How exciting is this to read all these comments and compliments on a project I completed. Thank you very much. There was a question about “how did I clean the corks” the answer is I didn’t… I just used them as it – I may have rotated them to show the cleaner side and I didn’t use ones that were really yucking but they are au natural as they come out of the bottle. And also, just want to comment that I’ve had a lot of help collecting these corks, didn’t drink all that wine by myself. LOL Although I do love wine – there was some help involved and whenever I’m at a restaurant and we order a bottle of wine for the table I always snag the cork! Thanks again for all the compliments.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for stopping in with that info Emily. We’re so glad everyone loves your amazing cork project as much as we do!
xo,
s
Annie says
I ♥ this idea!!
Briony says
I like this idea! I found a great DIY art inspiration site. 20$ art that changes weekly. http://www.20×200.com/
Erin @ Cultivating Home says
Emily did a great job. I particularly love the triptych rather than one big board. My only suggestion (from experience) is that instead of hot glue, use super glue or even small project liquid nail. The corks tend to fall off over time since hot glue doesn’t have the same adhesive strength as other glues. Just a suggestion although I do love the end result!
Kathie says
This is a wonderful project and perfect to clear the front of the fridge of all the junk that’s held there with magnets (that slide down the door when least expected). Much to my husband’s chagrin, I’ve been saving wine corks to line the bottom of a tray our niece gave me for my birthday. It has deep sides and a big, grinning, Santa at the bottom of the tray. I’ll just line the bottom with the corks and voila–I have a tray that’s usable year-round and that won’t be damaged by hot items.
micaela @ hishouse;herhelp. says
this would also look good if you could manage to cut the corks in half lenght wise and glue the flat side down.
sarah says
I like these corks on the side like that, because they show off the fun designs. Of course, so many “corks” these days aren’t cork. I’m not sure I have enough for this project, but I definitely think I’m going to try! Thanks, Emily and to you both for sharing this.
Hänni says
This is such a great idea! I love the idea of adding an organic element into a living space. I’m about to start collecting corks!
ashley says
So creative and SO adorable!!! Thanks for the idea Emily. : )
I also loved your table setting idea (with corks).
Ashley
Barbara says
It’s interesting that this post is about cork. My husband and I recently had dinner at Bones Restaurant in Atlanta. I wish I’d taken a picture of the ceiling in the private dining room we were in because it was entirely covered with corks. It was truly beautiful.
Barbara says
I also noticed someone asked about how to clean cork. Because cork has natural antibacterial properties, I wouldn’t imagine them needing nothing more than a quick rinse and letting them dry out.
Bromeliad says
Wow. What patience. And what a great reuse of materials.