Bottle it up

We've all been there before, you have a house party with a bunch of good friends, drinks are had and everyone has a good old time (hopefully).  The next morning when you wake up you're amazed at all the places that bottle caps can end up.  In rooms people weren't even in, on shelves, counters, chairs, sinks, you name it, they're there.  Now most people would probably throw these out, but there are actually a lot of really cool things you can do with bottle caps considering it seems so wasteful to throw away all of those pieces of metal.

Here are some cool ideas:

You can make a bottle cap picture frame or a frame for a mirror.  I think it would be neat to use caps from one type of beer and making something with that.  It would make a great gift for someone who drinks only one kind or for a bachelor pad or something

If you paint some bottle caps or glue really cool beads or buttons you can make jewelry out of them

You can do the same thing with the jewelry but make fridge magnets.  I really like this idea for stocking stuffers or cute little gifts for fun

Or you can just do this if you have all the time in the world and a seemingly endless supply of bottle caps

Cork dork

So as I mentioned in my post Corky projects I was going to do a project using old wine corks.

Well I kept my promise and I completed my very own cork board.  This is another one of those too-easy-to-be-real projects, but here's proof that crafts really can be super cheap, super easy and really cute.

There it is sitting proudly on my wall.  The cool thing about this piece is that it can be functional or just decorative

Here it is being a functional cork board

So how do you make it?

Here's what you need:

-A picture frame

-A bunch of corks

-Hot glue gun (not pictured)

The frame that I chose was only $3 dollars at the Goodwill bins.  I saw some really giant ones that were only like $10 dollars but I wanted to make sure I worked out the kinks in a smaller frame before moving up in size.  This is I'd say the only purchase you'd have to make for this project, unless you already have a frame that you'd like to use

So here's what I did first:

I sorted out all the same size corks and got an idea of how many I would need to fill the frame (I ended up needing a few more than this since this isn't the final pattern).  I also kept the glass in the frame because it created a stable base

Next I arranged the corks in the final pattern and hot glued them by vertical rows so I could make sure it would all fit.  I suppose you could glue it horizontally but I don't recommend gluing random corks because you could end up with empty spaces or not enough room.  

As you can see at the top of the picture there wasn't enough room for whole corks so I cut them in half and it worked out really nicely

And there it is!  I want to make a lot more of these in all different sizes since they were so easy and fast and if you buy the frames at the bins then you will spend hardly any money on them.  

Corky projects

Alright, so I've covered what to do with your empty wine bottle in my posts Can't let it go and Nothing to wine about, but what do you do with the corks?  Do you throw them away?  Because you should really be saving them since they can be made into some amazingly creative and easy projects.

If you're not much of a wine drinker and don't know how you're going to collect a substantial amount of corks, don't fret!  You can call some wine shops or maybe even restaurants to see if they have extra corks.

Anyways, tonight I'm doing a cork project but I thought it would be cool to post some other ideas I found online since I didn't know there were so many things you could do with them and you probably didn't either.

A nice picture frame

Not exactly sure what this is, a bath mat?  I just thought it looked cool

I love the look of this light and the really pretty patterns it leaves on the wall

For the extremely dedicated crafter, a chair could be made out of corks.  Not sure where you'd start or how comfortable it would be but this would definitely be for an individual with a lot of time

You can do any letter of the alphabet, this would be neat for a kid's room or to spell out something on the wall

Everyone needs a cork tuxedo

I really love the idea of filling a blank wall with corks, it would take a lot of time but it looks really nice and would also make a great place to stick memos for the day

Spice up your coffee table

I really want to do this after today's project!  It's probably very sturdy but still supportive and wouldn't have a problem with water damage

A great way to organize jewelry!

Nothing you can wine about

So now that the holidays are over and all your festivities have come to a screeching halt with the new year, you probably have a lot of left over wine bottles.  Of course you could put them in the recycling, but where's the fun in that?  There are so many creative and decorative things you can do with wine bottles.
Today, I learned first hand that sometimes the simplest of crafts are the best.
I originally wanted to make candle votives which you make by cutting the wine bottle with string, nail polish remover and fire.  However, that trick did not work, neither did lighter fluid and neither did a hack saw.  So, feeling frustrated and defeated I looked over at the string I was using for that project and realized there was still hope for me to craft after all!
So I made a twine wrapped vase!

It was seriously one of the easiest things I've made and I think it looks really rustic and beachy.  

Here's what you need: 

-A wine bottle (or any bottle for that matter)

-Twine/string/yarn

-Hot glue gun

Start at the bottom, gluing about every inch.  Work your way up until you've reached the place you want to stop.  Tada!