Decorating With Corks

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap  —  April 27, 2012 — 7 Comments

Wine corks have become one of my favorite things to have around. Last year I got a big stash from my friend Jen, who works in a fancy shmancy restaurant down in New Orleans and saves them all. At first it was just to help me make this wine cork bathmat I’d been dreaming of.

But then I had so many left over that I started putting them in little bowls and vases all around my house. I love the way they add texture and interest, plus there’s a bit of sentimental value, as well. A couple of years ago there was a great bunch of girls who would come over on the first Friday of every month and we’d all sit around drinking wine and making fabulous, meaningful conversation. Many of them have since moved out of town and the gathering sort of dissolved, but I cherish those memories and the corks are a nice little reminder. I’m getting a little teary-eyed just thinking about it. Probably the pregnancy hormones, and the fact that I haven’t had a glass of wine since October, haha.

Even after making the bathmat and placing little bowls all around I still had a ridiculous amount of corks sitting in bags, so I decided to start selling them in my shop. And let me just tell you, they’ve been going like hotcakes. I can’t keep them in stock. I recently had to actually buy more corks to sell because my stash ran out and I was calling Jen every month begging for another bag and still couldn’t keep up.

50  Wine Corks at Living la Vida Vintage

I’m always curious about what buyers are doing with all the corks I sell them. One lady bought like 500 to fill up a giant glass jug. Another customer, Cara, was sweet enough to send me pictures of how she used them to decorate for a wine-themed party.

Aren’t all those ideas so clever? I think my favorite is the second picture, where she used them to surround a small cylinder vase placed inside a larger vase with a candle in the center. I’ve seen lots of pictures on Pinterest where folks fill the outer vase all the way up to the top with corks and the result is very pretty, with candlelight flickering between the corks and making the whole thing sort of glow.

If you want to go beyond corks as vase filler, Pinterest is full of ideas on using them for small craft projects. I’ve seen everything from sticking bits of green garland in them to make mini Christmas trees to trivets made from corks and a hose clamp.

I sell corks in my shop in quantities of twenty-five, fifty, and one-hundred, plus larger quantities upon request, but you can always stock up the old fashioned way. Invite a bunch of friends over to help you empty those bottles, or if you’re not such a lush maybe just ask everyone you know to save all their corks for you. Or find a good restaurant source like my friend Jen, although I think it’s pretty rare for bars and restaurants to save their corks so diligently. And if you’ve found a clever way to decorate or craft something with corks I’d love to hear about it!

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Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap

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7 responses to Decorating With Corks

  1. Hi Charlotte!
    I fel awful I haven’t sent pictures in of my corks!!! I will!! you are doing great, hang in there!! everything looks wonderful:).
    Shelly

    • Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap April 27, 2012 at 10:34 am

      Thanks, Shelly! And don’t feel bad! I would love to see your giant jug o’ corks, though!

  2. I love all these ideas! I’m saving mine for a friend’s wedding (we’re going to try this idea: http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/photo/92551) but I think I might decorate with them in the meantime!

  3. Janet (Country Mouse) April 28, 2012 at 8:24 pm

    I love the bathmat. It is so clever. Who would have thought of all of those uses? We have used them for an old fashioned fishing event. You know; a stick, a string. and a cork. That has been one of our most popular FishinPals events. I never really thought to decorate with corks.

    • Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap April 30, 2012 at 7:56 am

      And I never would have thought to use them for fishing! Corks are just very versatile, I guess!

  4. I never knew that! I don’t think I could bear to recycle them thgouh. I had such a hard time finding corks en masse for my bathmat that they’re like currency to me now!

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