A Unique & Timeless Wine Cork Wreath That Will Stand Test of Time

N'Ckyola
by N'Ckyola
7 Materials
1 Day
Easy
I am a wine drinker, I mean I really like my wine. So like most people, I mean those who choose to keep their corks rather than throw them out, I “stored” my corks in decorative glass hurricanes, bowls, whatever I could find to hold them. I always had the intent to do something with them.

I've made yard stick bulletin boards & place card holders but this was my favorite ever – a wine cork wreath.

This wreath takes a little time but will last as long as you want. Mine weathers the elements on my front door & even made it through a move with very little damage that I was able to fix easily.
First things first - grab all your materials:
  • Corks - if you don't drink much you can go to local restaurants and/or bars. They'll usually gladly give you any extras they may have.
  • Toothpicks
  • An awl
  • Wood glue - this is optional but makes it super durable
  • Straw wreath form
  • A wire hanger & perhaps some needle nose pliers to bend it
Get everything together in 1 place. This method takes some time & believe me you don't want to have to keep getting up for anything other than a glass of wine. icon


Put a drop cloth or large (rag) towel down on your work surface. This is to protect against drips from the glue & it makes cleanup easier too.
Use the awl to create a hole 1 flat end of the cork as if you were using a corkscrew. Push the awl about halfway down the cork.


Then immediately insert a toothpick into the hole.
Do this 1 cork at a time because if you try to do it assembly line style, by the time you get back to your 1st cork that little hole will be as good as gone.


Before you know it you'll have loads of corks-on-a-stick!


It also makes the project go a little faster this way because once you have all the corks ready to go, you just start placing them & watching your gorgeous wreath come together.
1 at a time, put a small dab of glue on the exposed end of the toothpick.


Starting at the back of the wreath & using your flat surface as a guide, start pushing the exposed toothpick in the corks at an angle 1 at a time.


Once the back is completely filled around the wreath, use it as a guide for the next "row". Keep doing this until you fill in all the rows to the center of the wreath & always in the same direction.


Now for the hanger.


I made a large wreath so it's heavier than a standard wreath with foliage. I wanted to make sure there was no chance of losing it to a weak "hanger"
1 at a time, place a dab of glue on the exposed toothpick of the corks.


Starting on the larger outside of the wreath & using the flat surface as your guide, start pushing the toothpick ends of the corks into the wreath at an angle.


Once the bottom outside "row" is done, use it as a guide for the next row. Keep attaching the corks in rows & all in the same direction until it's completely covered to the inside smaller ring of the wreath.
From the back it will look like this...
Now for the hanger.


I made a large wreath so it's heavier than a standard wreath with foliage. I wanted to make sure there was no chance of losing it to a weak "hanger".


Somehow somewhere I found a wire pant hanger in the house - no idea how that got past me!


I took the cardboard tube off of the pant hanger and cut the wire part of the hanger just below the twisted portion. You can do this with heavy duty wire cutters OR just bend it back & forth until it breaks.


Bend this wire portion into an open rectangle with ends that curl inward about 1 inch. The ends will be pushed upward into the straw wreath & the "rectangular" portion will be the hanger.
That's it, now it's ready to hang! I leave this up all year round and just add embellishments for the seasons and holidays. 


This year for Halloween I'm doing purple flowers around a colorful Día de Muertos skull. I'm not usually big into Halloween, but I'm excited about this bit of décor!


Catch my original adventure with this wreath - how & why I came up with this method & what it has survived along the way with some surgery. icon
Resources for this project:
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N'Ckyola
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Vpe10004124 Vpe10004124 on Sep 17, 2018

    Wondering about the straw wreath holding the toothpicks. Did you also try a foam or other more solid wreath?

    Thank you,

    S

  • Vicki Mark Bastien Vicki Mark Bastien on Sep 17, 2018

    So I have some idea when I can stop drinking...roughly how many corks were needed for this project? (Give or take a case.)

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  • Lesa D Lesa D on Feb 09, 2019

    I like the ablility to make small changes and utilize this wreath year round!

  • Abdelkokeshia Gordon Abdelkokeshia Gordon on Feb 09, 2019

    Darn-it!!! I threw mine away, when i moved. I didn't think i was going to use them. Now i see this.

    Time to make a trip. 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

    Thank you!!

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