Monday, October 3, 2011

Wine Cork Letter

Grace here again, reviewing my first craft. I am sure everyone with a pinterest account has seen this:

(photo found here)

Being that I love wine, and love having a monogram/initial displayed, I figured I would give this a try. The website linked to the pin gives some basic instructions, but I like a more detailed play by play. I modified it a bit, but actually made it before we started the blog, so I don't have many pictures to go along with it.

First, I ordered a bunch of corks from ebay because I didn't think I had enough at home. I got 100 for $11.50 plus shipping (a lot cheaper and a more sober option than trying to drink 100 bottles!).

Second, I didn't use a wooden letter cutout, I just traced a wooden "V" I already had from Michaels and display on my fireplace mantle onto a thick piece of cardboard and cut it out.

Next, I played around with the layout - trying to figure out where I can fit whole and half corks. Once I figured it out, I went to work cutting the corks I needed. This was the worst part. I tried a couple different methods (after a quick google search), and discovered using a sharp utility knife worked the best - and it still wasn't pretty. It didn't exactly make a clean cut and I had little pieces of cork all over my office. Thankfully I only needed 6 halves so I only had to do it 3 times.

Next up I fired up the glue gun and got to gluing them down. This went pretty easy and quick.

The downside to using a piece of cardboard instead of wood is that the edges arent very pretty. To remedy this, I decided to use a piece of ribbon along the outside of the whole thing.


I used a little dab of glue on the outside of each cork, and stuck the ribbon in it. It was messy, but I think it helped. I made sure the ribbon overlapped onto the back of the letter, and used some straight pins to attach it from the back into the corks. You can see that here:


Then I just attached a bow using the same ribbon and hung it up on my door!


Verdict: I like how it turned out, and I was done in about an hour.

Things I would do different/things to consider: I would probably seek out a wooden letter. Now that I have had it hanging for awhile, the weight of the corks (and probably the fact that it doesn't sit flush on the door) sort of morphed the whole thing - if you lay it out on a table right now it wouldn't sit flat. I think I would also make it a little bigger. It seems a little small on my door:
I would also use a solid ribbon instead of sheer. You can see the glue through it if you look at the sides. I will probably change out the ribbon color when I take it down and hang up something else for fall. Also something to consider - not all corks are the same height. I am ok with that, I like the variation (that's also why I used some with the red side out and some with the red side in), but if you are looking for symmetry and a smooth surface, that's going to take some additional planning.

Like I said, I am happy with how it turned out. Perhaps it is not as pretty as the one from the pin, but I think it looks great on my front door. I can wonder though if my neighbors think we are alcoholics?

-Grace

7 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, I LOVE this idea! I think I have my next craft lined up. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. That looks super-cute! Definitely a craft to add to my own collection of pins :)

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  3. I saw that pin on pinterest too and was wondering about how it could be done! It looks great! My mom loves her wine and has about a million corks saved, so this would be a great idea for her.

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  4. Thanks for the detailed instructions and the critiques at the end! I found your post/blog through Bower Power's Pinterest Challenge and of course 'pinned' your post to my boards! It is now on my "Christmas Gifts to Make" list! I will take pictures and post credit to you on my blog (www.tammyskinner.com) when I am done!

    Thx again!
    Tammy

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  5. So glad you all liked it! Be sure to share your results!

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  6. I just did this for our family and wanted to back link your site as the original post.. are you ok with that? you can check out my site to look at first funcraftysavymom.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Of course Liz. Can't wait to see how yours turned out! Have a great weekend! :)

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