Cork Art: Or, How I Copied Something From Pinterest Without Failing!

I usually can't do anything I see on Pinterest. I either screw it up, or figure out it's impossible and a complete fail.

I found myself with a lot of extra corks lying around after my wedding last October. After perusing Pinterest, a few crafts catching my eye, a friend of mine mailed a box FULL of corks for my artsy pleasure, and I set about trying to create something for my kitchen...

First Attempt

My first attempt wasn't too bad, for making it up as I went along. Learned a few things: hot glue didn't work for me. Don't ask me why. This was done with superglue. And, I kept all corks intact. My husband suggested cutting them in half to create more stability. So, this is how I made some "wall art" and put these corks to good use!

 I started by cutting them length wise for the look I was going for. I could then trim off bare ends, or whatever I needed to do. Of course after the fact, I found a neat tip: Boil your corks for ten minute prior to cutting, and they won't crack or shred. Oops. We can blame wine on that.

The Letter I got at my local Walmart for a few bucks, that gave me a flat surface and guide to work with, as well as a good base to screw picture hanging anchors on. I started from the middle, out. That way I could line everything up (which probably would have saved me from some of the crooked-ness of the first attempt) and fill as much of the base as possible. Unlike my first attempt, I felt that by cutting them I was able to have a lot more stability of the corks, and even level them out as far as depth.  But, I didn't glue anything right away, which is an excellent tip I can provide: cut your pieces first so you can design your look, and change things if needed.

My bottle of wine to help, I got the design I wanted, and then began gluing from the middle, out. I didn't log my time, so it took me a few days, what with raising a family full time and all. I think this took me about two weeks to finally get done. So any average crafter should have it completed in about an hour, tops.












And finished result! Still a little crooked due to the girth of the corks themselves, and my laziness for not wanting to shave off too much, but I'm the kind of person who likes these little imperfections. I think they give the piece more character, and if I really want something perfect, I'll buy it from a major distributor. Crafts are supposed to have personality.

What Pinterest inspired crafts do you enjoy?