12 Easy Must-Try Wine Cork Crafts

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information.

Feature photo of a cork board made from wine corks pushed into a cookie cooling rack sheet. The cork board has a note about brunch with monarch butterflies, a pretty ivory brooch pin and two yellow push pins with pearl bracelets and a necklace hanging from them. A twisted piece of wire (a coat hanger painted black to match) at the top is a decorative element and a practical hanging solution.

Clever and useful ways to repurpose champagne and wine corks!

Ask your family and friends to save up wine corks for you to make these beautiful crafts. Below are twelve unique ways to craft those corks into something useful!

Need more wine corks? Find them here on Amazon.

1. Succulent Planters

Hot glue wine corks into jar lids to make eco-friendly planters!

These beautiful, inexpensive planters make great gifts for friends and family, or make them to give as wedding or shower favors.

Here, I used mason jar lids that I had on hand, but you could also use recycled aluminum lids from glass jars in your recycle bin. Set your corks in place first to check for a tight fit to the sides, then hot glue them in place. Fill each with cactus and palm potting soil, and a mini succulent.

Photo of three succulent planters made from wine corks lining a mason jar lid. A different mini live succulents planted in each on a dark wood table with light streaming in from a window on the left side.
Succulent Planters

2. Wine Glass Charms

Turn corks into fun wine glass charms!

To make them, boil the corks in water for about 10 minutes. This makes them easier to cut.

Cut into slices and add a mini screw eye pin to the top, and string onto a 30mm (1.18 inches) hoop-style earring findings. I used the tops of corks that already had branding or dates printed on them, but feel free to decorate your charms any way you like.

Overhead photo of eight handmade wine glass charms. Each made with wine cork slices. Here I used the tops of wine corks that had the date or other symbol already stamped on the top of the cork. Shown is a cork with grapes, punning sheers, the letter R, a crown, a rabbit and the dates 2016 and 2018. Each is on a hoop earring finding with brass and amber beads for additional decoration. All of the cork wine glass charms are on a white background with two around the base of a long stem clear wine glass.
Wine Glass Charms

3. Cork Memo Board

Make a memo board using a cookie cooling rack and an assortment of wine corks!

It took a little work to push corks into the rack in some spots, but I love how this DIY thumbtack board came out. The baking (cookie cooling) rack I used here came from Walmart and has a .74-inch hole/grid.

To hang it, I twisted a wire hanger and used needle-nose pliers to hook the ends to the rack.

Photo of a DIY cork board made with wine corks that have been pushed into the holes of a baking cooling rack. The corks are different shades of burgundy. There are push pins holding necklaces and pearl bracelets. There's also a vintage ivory flower brooch pushed into the board at the top. There are two notes both with butterflies pinned to the board. The cork board hangs vertically by a twisted coat hanger with a loop at the top that connect to the rack. The wine cork - cork board has a vintage feel with a hint of a red/pink book below and a pink tin with white flower candle on top as well as a small green succulent.
Memo Cork Board

Note: For this DIY I do not recommend boiling the corks. I tried that, and it didn’t work well. The corks expanded and crowded the spot next to it, making it difficult to push some corks into the rack. Instead, I recommend cutting the base a little on the sides or rubbing a wax candle onto them to make it easier to push into the grid.

4. Wine Cork Garland

Make this decorative garland for your tiered tray or to decorate your holiday tree! Find the full wine cork garland tutorial here.

Handmade wine cork garland feature image. The garland has jute tassels and three beads between each cork, two smaller and a larger natural wood bead. The garland is wrapped around a candle sitting on a stack of book in green and deep orange tones. In the backround is a potted plan in a terracota planter and a photo of a plant next to it on a wood clip board.
Wine Cork Garland

5. Cork Photo Holder

Make a free-standing photo holder in minutes by hot gluing and stacking wine corks together. Use a thumbtack to attach a binder clip and add a photo.

Feature photo of a photo holder made from wine corks. The corks have been stacked and hot glued to form a rectangle, self sitting photo cork board. The photo of Waikiki Beach is held by a small pink binder clip. The photo is on a stack of books with plants in the background.
Cork Frame

6. Champagne Cork Bat & Ghost Ornaments

Turn champagne corks into ghost and bat ornaments. These are made with basic supplies like acrylic paint, fabric scraps, felt for bat ears, thumb tacks, and wire ribbon, making them an easy thrift- and Dollar Tree–friendly craft.

The bat wings are cut from 2-inch wire ribbon (spray-painted black if needed). The wire edge remaining at the top helps the wings hold their shape. You can download the Batwings Template here and use it as a guide when cutting the ribbon.

The ghosts are finished with small 4-inch squares of white fabric attached at one corner with thumbtacks around the cork. Twist small screw eyes into the top of each ornament.

Photo of black bat and and white ghost made with champagne corks for the body. The white ghost has large painted on black eyes and thumbtacks holding flowing white squares of fabric for the body. The black bat has white painted eyes, black felt pointed ears and the wings have been cut from 2-inch wire ribbon.
Bat and Ghost Ornaments

7. Lucky Wine Cork Gnomes

Use a single wine cork as a base to make these cute lucky wine cork gnomes. I like to give these as gifts along with a bottle of wine! Find the full lucky wine cork gnome tutorial here.

Lucky Cork Gnomes vertical image with two gnomes with a green shamrock button on top of their pointy hats and long flowy orange beards. Two hanging on a wine bottle.
Lucky Cork Gnomes

8. Patriotic Wine Cork Star

Make a wine cork star easily with just a few supplies. To make one, you’ll need about 30 inches of 20-gauge steel wire, colorful beads, ten wine corks, and pliers to cut and bend the wire ends.

Drill a hole through each cork, then use needle-nose pliers to make a hook at one end of your wire. Feed corks and beads onto the wire, bending in between, to form a star. Finish by hooking the ends together, cutting away any excess wire.

Wine cork star decoration shown on a vintage wood clipboard. The patriotic star had different red beads at the corners and is strung from the clipboard with a blue ribbon.
Wine Cork Star

9. Wine Cork-Topped Twine Pumpkins

Use champagne and wine corks as toppers to make twine pumpkins. I made these to decorate my fall-tiered tray, and these little pumpkins couldn’t be easier to make. Cut ribbon pieces and burlap leaves for the top, then push your wine or champagne cork into the center to hold them in place. Find more Fall craft ideas here.

Two balls of twine are made into pumpkins by adding white ribbon and burlap cut into leaves with a cork for a stem.
Cork-Topped Pumpkins

10. Cork Sailboats

You only need seven wine corks, some scrap fabric, string, and a stick from the yard to make an adorable cork sailboat. You can find the full DIY cork sailboat tutorial here.

Square feature image of two DIY Cork Sail Boats with patriotic sails.
Cork Sailboats

11. Wine Cork Christmas Tree

You can make anything from hearts to snowflakes to this beautiful Christmas tree just by stacking and gluing corks in place.

Miniature Christmas tree made out of 17 wine corks decorated with a string of red and green bells on copper wire.
Wine Cork Christmas Tree

12. Wine Cork Tray

This simple cork tray was made using an upside-down stretched canvas as the base. To make one, you’ll first need to spray paint the entire canvas (I made mine gold), then hot glue corks into the recessed back. Reinforce the bottom with a craft wood board and add a wire beaded handle and decorative trim or ribbon to finish the sides.

Wine Cork Tray - on marble counter empty
Star divider used has two hand drawn lines with a star in the center, used as a content break and signals new or different content below. This doodle style illustration is in a medium charcoal gray.

– MORE TO EXPLORE –

Patriotic Upcycle Projects + DIY Word Signs + Tart Tin Crafts

Coke and Pepsi soda cans turned planters and placed in a wood holder with sparklers in front.
Square feature photo of rows of different stackable word signs made with two by fours. They are for different holidays, pastel painted pink for XO, Be Mine, Lucky in light green, America in white, this is an easy, beginner friendly Cricut or silhouette craft with free templates.
Shown are supplies to assemble a tart tin wreath using a grapevine wreath, an assortment of vintage tart tins (show is a clover, a star, a copper heart, and more.
Coke and Pepsi soda cans turned planters and placed in a wood holder with sparklers in front.
Patriot Upcycle Projects
Square feature photo of rows of different stackable word signs made with two by fours. They are for different holidays, pastel painted pink for XO, Be Mine, Lucky in light green, America in white, this is an easy, beginner friendly Cricut or silhouette craft with free templates.
DIY Word Signs
Shown are supplies to assemble a tart tin wreath using a grapevine wreath, an assortment of vintage tart tins (show is a clover, a star, a copper heart, and more.
Tart Tin Crafts

Leave a Reply