Cork Trees, another good reason to drink wine!

Jen and I are big fans of wine bottles ( both full and empty) and wine corks because both hold so much potential for great recycling projects. And if you have friends, as I do, who help contribute to the collection, it takes little time before you have plenty of inventory for projects. This is one wine cork project that I had fun making.




Here's how I made this little cork tree.


The supplies for this project:
Plenty of wine corks
Glue gun
Varying sizes of cardboard tubes or any sturdy tube that will work as a
base to glue a ring of corks to.


As you can see from this photo, Miss Happ took the job of collecting wine corks very seriously.


The base of the tree started with a 41/2 inch ring that was cut from an oatmeal box. I like to cut the ring just a little shorter than the cork height.
Once you cut the base ring, and before you actually start to glue, lay out the corks you plan to use to make sure you have a good fit. Wine corks vary a little in width and they definitely vary in height.


Once you have laid out the corks to accommodate the ring, glue them in place.


The next ring of corks was done on a 31/2 ring. Again, lay out the corks and then glue them on the ring.



As you build your tree, each layer will decrease in size until you reach the top which is one cork. And I usually try to find the prettiest or most appropriate cork for the top. If you are giving your tree to a friend, maybe the top cork is from their favorite wine.



As you get to the top of the tree, you no longer need a base onto which you glue the corks. Just glue them to each other to get the size you need.


Most of the trees I have made are 6 or 7 layers tall. But there are no rules, so have fun and make it your own.



When the tree is complete, I cut a piece of felt and glue it to the bottom of the tree to finish it off.


I use pieces of copper wire, bent into a kind of star shape for the tree topper, but there are all kinds of possibilities for a tree topper. So use your imagination and see what you come up with.


At this point I feel my trees are complete. I like the simplicity of them, but
that's not to say you can't decorate and embellish these sweet things all you want.




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