A few years back I decided to start keeping my wine corks. After a while I had more than enough to make this wine cork wreath to hang on my front door. It is so me and tells the world before even coming in that we are wine drinkers, and that anyone can join in but cannot judge.
Well recently (like 10 months ago, but still recent) we moved and there were casualties. Some things got left behind, some things got a little “damaged”, and some things just didn’t make the cut. Sadly, my wine cork wreath did not fare well in the move. Darn movers – overall great, but some things require a little extra care. I just didn’t think this was one of them.
Yesterday, after 10 months, I finally pulled my wine cork wreath in from the garage so I could assess the situation and… LOOK! Just look at my wreath!
From the top view, she doesn’t look to badly dinged. But take a closer look:
This is not good at all. See all those gaps? Those are missing corks and I couldn’t possibly put the wreath back up in this condition. I have to replace all those fallen soldiers. Good thing I love wine.
This is major surgery. All of these corks have to be reattached and there are several more that are loose. And apparently there are some that didn’t even make it to the new place (don’t ask how I know, just trust that I do).
So I gather my materials, the tools of the trade, and get my mind right for some crafty handiwork.
I’ve got my:
- toothpicks – to insert into the corks
- wood glue – I’m not taking chances this time
- awl – to make holes in the cork for the toothpicks
- needle-nose pliers – to pull broken toothpicks out of the corks that fell or broke off
- small hammer – for no good reason really
- extra corks
Optional supplies:
- a glass of wine, of course
- comfy seat – because I’m not one of those craft table kind of people AND because I might be here a while
- remote – since I’m gonna be here a while, I’m about to binge watch some food (or DIY) network
As I get to work, I begin to reminisce about all that great (and not so great) wine. I fondly recall when I discovered Foodies at WorldMarket or Apothic Red. I start noticing how I must have discovered some of these pretty early because the corks from the same bottles of wine are different, but not like from a different year different (e.g. 2010 Merlot vs. 2014 Merlot).
And these plain corks with absolutely nothing on them… WTH was that. Hmm, well we must not have liked it too much because there’s not many of those. But whatever these are with just grapes on them… looks kinda errr… cheap. But even the experts agree that there are a lot of bottles under $x that are pretty damn good. 😉 I can testify!
Ahh the memories. Now back to this wreath…
Since I already went through how I made the wreath, I won’t talk about that again. What I will do is talk about something I did a little differently this time. Wood glue. That’s what’s different. Are you thinking why in sam hill would I need wood glue to put together a wreath?
It doesn’t seem necessary but clearly something is, otherwise the corks would not have been lost or broken in the first place. Since I use toothpicks to secure the corks to a straw wreath, I figure wood glue would be a good bet because:
- toothpicks = tiny wood and
- straw = I’m not totally sure what but I do know it’s gotta be plant based and that’s not too far off from… wood and
- I already have plenty on hand so it was either that or gorilla glue
Truth is, I probably went a little overboard with the glue. I put in on the wreath and coated each toothpick before sticking it into the wreath. But at the end of an hour, all the corks had been replaced and the glue was drying up.
I kinda wish I had redone the entire thing using this method with the glue. But now I know what to do if any more are damaged.
Now that my wine cork wreath is repaired, she has once again taken her proper place of prominence telling the world “Welcome, come on in and enjoy a glass of wine with us”!
