Wine Cork Heart Craft

Time: Approx. 3 hours / Level: Easy

You will need:

• 80-100 wine corks (for a heart about 10” across and 6” high)
• Foam core board or thin wood piece, in shape of a heart
• Hot glue gun/glue sticks
• Xacto knife (or similar)

1. Separate corks by color. This step is not necessary if using only white wine or only red wine corks. I wanted an ombre effect (shaded from light to dark) in the final product, so I used mostly red wine corks. You can also easily place red and white corks randomly.

2. Use your heart shape as a rough gauge for size/shape/quantity of corks needed. I found a thin wooden heart shape, hung on a short length of twine for $3.99 at Michael’s craft store. You can also cut the size/shape you want with your knife from a piece of foam core board. Roughly assemble the corks on your heart shape.

3. Start gluing the corks around the outer edge of your shape. I had a lip of cork hang over the wooden edge, so that I applied the glue only on the bottom of each cork, covering only the bottom in a half moon of glue. Glue corks about halfway to three-quarters around the outer edge with corks.

4. Start filling in the center with corks. Work from edge that is already corked in toward the center, and out toward the empty edge. Fit the corks tightly, and trim any super tall ones on the bottom with your knife. Glue to the surface with one dot of glue on the bottom, and another on a side of the cork that’s touching another cork.

5. Your last corks to place should be along the shape edge that you left empty. These last corks may need to be manipulated in place a bit.

6. If using foam core board, attach a string loop or other hanging device to the back of the shape.

7. Another option would be, once all corks are in place, to paint the top surfaces with acrylic paint. This is a good idea if you want an ombre effect but only have white wine corks.

When not working full time in the financial services industry, Lauren enjoys cooking, drinking wine, going to wine tastings, reading, sitting around a firepit drinking wine/reading/laughing. She also enjoys all kinds of crafts, typically repurposing existing items into other items. Recent projects includetransforming a bath/linen storage unit into a liquor cabinet as well as turning burlap coffee sacks into kitchen wall art. In addition, Lauren works part-time as an independent wine consultant, and co-owns a small specialty food business with a friend. Lauren lives outside of Boston where she snowshoes in the winter. Reach her at laurenloveswine@gmail.com.