DIY: Cork Board using an Upcycled Frame

Simply Emily's blog has a wonderful way to not only upcycle your used wine corks, but also that old frame you were debating tossing out!  Check out her blog for more DIY!

I have been collecting wine corks for a long time and for the most part just storing them in two large glass cookie jars, but have been wanting to make something with them for awhile (which is why I collect so many.) I made a coaster a few months back and I do plan to make more of those but this time I used a good amount of the corks up on these "cork" boards for our kitchen.

I have had these pictures for quite a while and they have served their purpose but now I found a new purpose for them. They are a good size and as you'll see below the detail on the edge of the frame lends itself to a classy bulletin board, right. :)

So armed with some black acrylic paint and tons of corks I went to work. I thought it would be a good idea to paint over the whole picture in black in case any of it showed thru the corks it would be more uniform that way.

Here they are all covered.

Then I started to arrange the corks, not as quick and easy as you would think if you want it to look good. I arranged them all make sure they fit well and looked good and then I started gluing.

Here they are all arranged and ready to be glued.

gotta love the glue gun. :)

I would take a few out at a time so I wouldn't lose the arrangement I wanted them to be in and glue each one individually.

all done. Don't they look GREAT. I would say start to finish the project probably took 2 1/2 hours most of the time spent gluing each cork down of course.

looks good.

DIY Project: Ruffly Felt Wreath

Thanks to Design Sponge for this amazingly done tutorial that is so easy I'm pretty sure it can't be real.  ; )

We are so excited to give this one a whirl!!  Can you imagine all the different color mixes you can do for ANY holiday, sports party, wedding, or whatever else you can think of...just love it.

What you’ll need for the wreath:

- a 12 inch Styrofoam wreath form
- approximately 2 1/2 yards of felt
- straight pins (enough to match the number of felt circles needed, plus two for attaching the hanger)
- scissors
- a 3 inch circle template
- a pencil
- ribbon for hanging

Making the Felt Rosettes

Using a pencil and your circle template, trace circles onto the felt. Cut the felt circles, and fold them in half twice to form rosettes. Insert a pin near the bottom corner of the rosette, about 1/8 inch from the corner.

Attaching the Felt Rosettes

Attach the felt rosettes to the wreath form, making sure to group the rosettes tightly enough that no Styrofoam is showing through the rosettes. After you’ve added a few, fluff and adjust the rosettes to your liking. Continue making, pinning, and attaching the rosettes until you’ve worked your way around the wreath form. If you have circles that are slightly misshapen or that have a little pencil or ink on them, place them toward the outside or inside edges, where they can’t be seen when the wreath is hanging.

Wreath Back

This is what my wreath looked like on the back when I was finished. As you can see, I started off with ball point straight pins, but I switched to flat head pins when the rosette count started to get up there and I had to run out and buy more pins. If you use flat head pins, then I suggest using a thimble to push them into the wreath form, or your thumb will take a beating. Ask me how I know.

Wreath Hanger

After you’ve finished adding the felt rosettes, cut a 5 inch length of ribbon, fold it in half, and attach it to the wreath form with two pins to form a hanger.

Wreath Finished

I love how organic the wreath looks when it’s finished. The ruffly felt rosettes, when grouped together like this, remind me a bit of a coral reef. While this is a rather ambitious project, I think it was completely worth the time spent. I’ll be using my wreath year ’round as part of my home décor!