Still cooped up, riding out the winter chill? The Purple Cowboy posse has rounded up some crafts to pass the time and help you recycle those extra corks and bottles taking up space in the garage! A few of the ideas here will even help you get ready for spring. While you’re busy getting crafty, make sure to open up a bottle of Trail Boss Cabernet or Tenacious Red to keep you company!
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Get Growing!
If you’re looking to welcome spring on your spread, put those corks to use as planters and garden markers. We found a couple of ways to dress up your plant pots, both large and small, with recycled corks. To estimate the number of corks you will need to cover your planter, take a look at these cork basics. Then, measure your pots and determine if gluing corks together is the best method for your project, or if stringing them on wire will work better. Construct the outer covering for your pots, and get a look that’s a natural in the garden and keeps corks out of the landfill.
To make sure you can tell your potatoes from your parsley, you’ll want to mark your plants, and corks come in handy here too. Just write the name of each crop with a permanent marker on each side of your cork. Insert thin bamboo skewers or wooden dowels and coat with a layer of polyurethane to make sure they weather the whole growing season.
For the Birds
Want to make your home hospitable to our feathered friends just about to start the long journey back north this season?
To provide a way station for the weary, this wine bottle bird feeder is just the ticket. You will need to construct a frame from a few pieces of lumber, and mount an inverted wine bottle that you fill with bird seed. It gradually releases the food, and is quick and easy to refill. You will need a table saw and some woodworking skills for this project.
Construct a cozy little birdhouse for two, with saved-up corks adding just the right touch. Follow one of these simple tutorials using a hot glue gun and corks to make the floor, walls, and roof. Or, opt for a simple one-board wooden birdhouse, like this one pictured from Carefully Corked, and use cork to finish. Slice corks in half lengthwise to make “logs,” and in thin rounds to make “shingles.” Just make sure to soak your corks in warm water for 10 minutes before cutting so they don’t crumble. With either method, top it all off with a champagne cork chimney!
Wine Cork Key Chain
If you’ll be spending any time on the water in the coming season, you’ll love this simple keychain made from cork. With just an eye hook and a loop you can transform corks into floating keychains. To customize them, take a look at these instructions on how to dye corks (purple, of course!). And feel free to add wine charms, inspirational words, or, if you’re Tough Enough, we like pink ribbons. Get inspired and customize these for all your favorite cowhands.
Seriously Sharp
For the serious cork collectors, we can’t resist this dart board cabinet. Requiring over 1,000 corks, it is certain to impress. The well-illustrated instructions are straightforward, and may be just the project you’re looking to start saving—corks!—for.
We hope you have fun with these crafts! Let us know how you make out in the comments section below or on our Facebook Page.
