Wine bottles come in some of the most fantastic shapes that just beg to be collected. The corks holding in all the flavor and aroma are also commonly saved. Once you have a good-sized stash of these corks, what are you going to do with them?
What better way to show off your love for vino than to decorate your home and garden with crafty cork creations? The nice thing about a cork wreath is that, with a few added embellishments, it can be used for any holiday or special occasion.
So how do you make a cork wreath? You will need about 200 corks for an average-sized wreath, but it’s a good idea to have a few extras on hand, just in case. You also need some type of base. You can make a base yourself out of various materials or buy one ready to go.
With a few additional supplies, you’ll have a beautiful cork wreath ready to go in no time. Just follow these step-by-step instructions for the best cork wreath you could dream of.
Instructions For Making A Cork Wreath
This is the ultimate guide to making a cork wreath.
First: Gather Your Supplies
The supplies you need include:
The Base
You need to choose a base for your corks. I recommend that you choose from a metal circle, a willow wreath, or a foam ring. You could even make your own base using wire.
In addition to the base wreath form and the corks, you will also need a glue gun, glue sticks and whatever type of embellishments you plan to add.
Gather up your supplies. Prepare your work station and let’s go!
The Corks
There are two basic types of corks:
New, blank corks or Recycled corks with the company logo or name of the wine imprinted on the side
If your corks are different sizes, start with the largest ones on the inside and use the smaller ones on the perimeter. Alternatively, you can mix and match for a more bizarre, unique look, if you like.
An interesting alternative is to cut the bottoms of the cork at an angle. Instead of using flat bottomed corks, cut them at an angle for a more creative look or to make the corks fit together better. Use a sharp craft knife.
Second: Make Your Cork Wreath
Now is the time to actually glue together your wreath! Follow the steps below using any base of your choosing along with at least 200 corks.
1. Choose your starting point on the inner circle of your base.
Apply a good dose of hot glue to one side of the cork and press it on this point. Hold the cork in place for a few seconds to allow a bond to form.
2. Apply a good dose of hot glue to your second cork and place it as close to the first one as possible.
Try not to leave a gap, unless that is the design you are creating.
If you choose to leave small gaps, you can fill these later with embellishments, twigs or ribbons.
Now you have two options:
- Lay the corks in a straight row, or
- Stagger them to create a more unique finish.
The first option will look neat and tidy, while the second method will turn out more original and creative.
3. Continue gluing your corks snugly into the center of the circle.
Once you get near the end of the circle, you might find that you are running out of room. This depends largely on the size of the corks you are using.
When you come near the end with about 3 corks to go, measure the gap and try to find cork sizes that will fill this gap. The corks are laying lengthwise, so if you still end up with a gap at the end too small for another cork, just trim the cork to size.
Cork can easily be cut with a sharp knife. Make a second row of corks above the first row. The inner ring uses approximately 20 corks, so you should have a total of about 40 corks glued into place.
4. Continue gluing the corks lengthwise around the circle.
This will make a nice foundation for the finishing layer. These outer rows will use more corks than the inner ones did. Count on about 35 corks for each outer circle.
Instead of making two rows of corks laying lengthwise, you can make one row of corks laying across the base.
Make sure you are pressing the corks firmly into the base and up against the surrounding corks. Keep gluing in the corks until your base is completely covered.
Note: Your wreath should be laying flat on the table. You are only gluing corks to the side facing up. The back of the wreath will remain bare so that it will hang flush with the door.
Alternatively, you can work all the way around the back for a fully rounded wreath. Of course, for this style you will need about twice as many corks.
5. Go wild!
This is where you release your inner creativity. There is no right or wrong way from here on out. You can create your wreath any way you like.
Three Options You Can Choose From:
- Option 1 – Continue to glue the corks lengthwise on their sides as you have been. Just glue them around and around until you have a second layer.
- You don’t really want a third layer, but if you do, then just keep on gluing! Keep in mind that just one row of glue on the side will no longer suffice. You will need to apply glue to about half of the width of the cork and maybe a bit on the ends, as well.
- Option 2 – Glue the second layer, end up. Apply the glue to the end of the cork and stand it up on top of the first layer. Place the corks close together or spread apart sort of like pine needles or any other pattern that suits your style.
- Option 3 – Create a real mishmash with corks going this way and that. Some laying down, some standing up, some laying crosswise, some end to end. When you’re done, you will have a truly one of a kind wonky creation! So wild, that it will look like it grew in nature! The crazier you make this layer, the better the finished wreath will look!
6. You need some type of hook to hang your wreath on the door or wall.
You can go really fancy with a professional wreath hanger specifically designed to hang wreaths on doors. Or, make your own with a simple wire or wire coat hanger.
7. Time to decorate.
How you decorate your wreath depends on the look you want to create.
Is the wreath for a special occasion or holiday? Is it to celebrate a birthday or anniversary? Did you make the wreath to welcome spring, summer or fall? Maybe the wreath is for a housewarming party? Or a baby shower?
The reason for making the wreath will determine the embellishments you choose.
Gather up your bows, ribbons, fancy objects, sparkly ornaments, and other embellishments and get to work adding them any way you like! Glue them on here and there or tie ribbons around the corks. Feel free to use paint and markers as well.
If your wreath is for a birthday or anniversary, consider putting a picture of the special person or couple in the center. For a holiday wreath, you can place a small toy – like a bunny, jack-o-lantern or elf in the center. Whatever you want to do to make your wreath more special, go for it!
There are no rules here. You can add whatever you like.
So the next time someone calls you a wino, you can smile and say, “Yep, and I have the wreath to prove it!” Then tell them that you are working on saving up enough corks for your next project!
If you’re interested in making a cork wreath using a foam base, check out this video by Iva Jasperson on YouTube.
