The winter holiday season brings a lot of celebrations and celebrations mean wine! Do you have wine bottles and corks sitting around? Some community recycling programs aren’t taking glass anymore because they have so much of it, but you can keep those empty bottles out of the landfill while exercising your creative muscles. Check out these DIY ideas for making crafts from wine bottles and corks. Some are easier than others and all are guaranteed to fill up your next snowy or rainy day at home.
Crafts from Wine Bottles
Remember bookshelves made of wood and concrete block? Follow the same DIY mindset, but use a combination of wine bottles (glued in place) and decorative chains to connect shelves into a gorgeous minimalist bookshelf or display shelf. Mix colors of bottles or stick to one for different looks. Step by step photos of a bookshelf project are available on Flickr!
Chalkboard paint can be a lot of fun around the house, and that includes on wine bottles! You can paint a “label” onto your bottle and write a note on it. Fill with candy for a custom gift. Bottles can also be completely coated in chalkboard paint and used as a “guest book” for your next occasion or anytime guests drop by. Leave a few painted bottles and colored chalk by the door so guests can personalize the bottles. At the end of the night, you have a show-off-worthy memento of the occasion.
If your DIY skills are of the advanced sort, you can learn to cut wine bottles and create all sorts of more complex projects, including serving dishes and planters that are made from cutting bottles lengthwise, flat-based candle covers and more. Detailed instructions on how to cut glass without cutting yourself in the process, as well as lots of great craft ideas, are located on the Homesthetics blog.
Crafts from Wine Corks
Wine bottles come with corks (most of them anyway). Don’t overlook corks when you’re thinking about cool DIY craft projects. One easy project you can make from wine corks is creative wine glass charms. This super easy project involves cutting the corks into discs, stamping each one with a craft store stamp and your choice of inks, then inserting a small hook to hold the string that ties the charm to the glass. (This one is so easy that we’re considering trying it!)
Also on the easy end of the spectrum is making place card holders from wine corks by making a slit in the side to hold the card. Perfect for your next dinner party or even a rustic themed wedding, these place card holders take minutes to make.
Feeling extra crafty? Use wine corks to frame a chalkboard or to build a combination memo board and chalkboard. Perfect for your kitchen, mudroom or garage, memo boards made from cork stand up to lots of pushpins!
Making cool stuff from things that you might not otherwise think of can add a lot of character and charm to your home. Before putting that next bottle in the recycling bin, take a look at the ideas above and try something new!
