Mullens Home: Stick a Cork In It

Using corks are a classic and relatively easy way to decorate - you can google "DIY Corks" and you'll see lists of the Top 25 Ways to Decorate with Corks and other articles like that. Whether it’s from placing them in a vase or creating a piece of artwork, I am a huge fan of recycling and reusing wine corks. Everyone in my family always keeps the corks after drinking a bottle of wine in order for these crafts to come to life. I thought I'd show off some of our family crafts that haven't been massively pinned on Pinterest - although I do love me some Pinterest. My cousin, Deb, has made lots of cork wreaths that she gives away as presents - she started way before it was cool on Pinterest. One of my favorites that she has made:

Side note: Check out how we made this a feature wall with the use of stone in the post A Wall Cast in Stone!

I was lucky enough to receive one this year for Christmas and I absolutely love it! Deb goes above and beyond and always puts in a little touch to personalize the wreath for the recipient. She made sure that my wreath had a "B" for Brooke, an "M" for Matt, and a "Columbia" cork (Columbia cork not seen in this picture) since that is where Matt and I met.

She inspired me to make some of my own cork decorations (as presents and for myself ;)). I made this “B” for my parents.

and an “M” for myself.

I first roughly laid out all the corks before gluing them together - making sure I liked the layout of the corks based on size and stained purple corks vs plain corks. Then all I used was a hot glue gun to keep the corks in place. It's extremely simple. The only thing I would do differently for the next time I make a cork letter is using cardboard or wood as the letter template. I decided to spruce things up by adding ribbons. My cousin uses grapes as seen on the wreath pictures which really add a nice touch.

Cork crafts help save money and look adorbs. These wedding place cards are from my cousins', JR and Sheila, wedding and are absolutely gorgeous.