American Flag Wine Cork Upcycle Craft

We save wine corks. I have no idea why. I wanted to make a cute patriotic craft for Memorial Day and the 4th of July so an American flag it is! What a fun craft project to upcycle the leftover corks.

You can use any kind of paint, but I like chalk (or milk) paint since they are a lot more natural than their acrylic counterparts. I also like the look, it's a little more farmhouse style. I used the paint I already had in my craft closet.

I love my husband dearly. But he's a little clepto. Like seriously. My good scissors are never in their home. I've replaced 5 dust pans in one month. The worst offender.... twine. I have to hide it unless I never want to see it again.

My flag project is finished and I'm excited to put the twine on it to hang it up and take the glamour shots. I go to my secret twine hiding spot.... missing! Schlitz! Fortunately, I have a second secret twine hiding spot. Thank goodness for backup!

I love this project because if you are a wee bit crafty, you already have most or all of the supplies on hand. Plus the cork upcycle is super fun. It's part of a   Frugal Lifestyle that gets us back to the basics in life.

This sounds like a lot - I'm just being extra thorough!

35 wine corks

Blue paint

Red paint

White paint or chalk pen

Cork board or cardboard for backing

Hot glue gun and hot glue

Exacto knife

Exacto knife board

Push pins

Small paint brushes

Twine

Drop cloth or newspaper

Separate out corks:

• 8 for blue
• 16 for red
• 11 for white or plain

Place corks on cork backing. Mark just under the entire surface and cut. The backing should be slightly smaller than the surface of all of the corks.

Using an Exacto knife, cut the backing. Yours may be different, but for reference, mine was about 8 1/2" by 5 1/2".

Paint the blue and red corks.

4 of the blue corks and 6 of the red corks will need the ends painted.

To eleviate at least some of the mess, push a push pin in the top of a cork to hold it while you paint it, and you can even paint the end this way. Then use the brush to give the cork some pressure and the push pin will come right out.

You can either paint the remaining corks white or leave them plain. I wanted to leave mine plain.

Let the corks dry for about an hour or so.

Place the corks one more time on the backing, just to make sure you are squared away before gluing.

Using your hot glue gun, glue one cork at a time.

Let dry for 15 minutes.

Paint the white stars with either white paint or a chalk pen.

You can use a couple of thumb tacks to attach the twine or fasten it to the backing with hot glue.

You are all set!

I'm sure you are like me and love patriotic projects! Be sure to  CLICK HERE to head over to the blog for more patriotic articles, projects, and DIYs! I look forward to seeing you there! Hugs, Holly