Category: Wine Crafts

Christmas, Craft Projects, DIY GIFT GUIDE, Gift Idea, Holiday, Wine Crafts

DIY GIFT GUIDE: Eucalyptus Christmas Tree

Jessica Smith

Eucalyptus Tree Gift Guide

Today I’m sharing a Christmas decoration that would make a great gift. This project was a pain in the butt, but SO worth it. So only make it for someone you really really like :p

Supplies:

  • 1 tree form
  • Eucalyptus (you can grab this from Michaels or any craft store that sells floral stuff)
  • Staples
  • Hot Glue
  • Corks
  • Tacks
  • Ribbon
  • Teal feathers

Steps:

  1. Rip the leaves off of your eucalyptus plant.
  2. Turn your tree base upside down and start to attach the eucalyptus. I did a mixture of staples stuck into the styrofoam, hot glue and some bent wire. Really anything I had at my workbench that would make the leaves stick. Go around and around and around and around until you reach the top.Eucalyptus Tree BaseEucalyptus Tree LeavesEucalyptus Tree Leaves2
  3. Once the leaves are covering the tree, glue corks to the bottom. I chose to place mine at the outer edge of the base of the tree so no white showed. You could place yours in the middle if you wanted it to be more like a real tree.
  4. Fill in any holes/white spots using teal feathers and small dabs of hot glue.
  5. Embellish with silver tacks to look like ornaments. You can use these to strategically pin down any loose leaves, too.
  6. Wrap your ribbon around the top of the tree and secure with glue.
  7. Stick your choice of topper into the top of the tree. I used a flower I had snagged on clearance a while ago. I stuck it into the top of the three using a nail.
  8. Admire your adorable-yet-not-too-Christmasy tree!Eucalyptus TreeEucalyptus Tree2
Christmas, Craft Projects, DIY GIFT GUIDE, Holiday, Wine Crafts

DIY GIFT GUIDE: Ribbon-Wrapped Cork Letters

Jessica Smith

Ribbon Wrapped Cork Letters

This summer I scored A TON of free wine corks for a winery in Hamburg, New York. Talk about a sweet score, huh? I saw all of the corks in a bucket and asked what they did with them. The woman working told me they threw them away! CRAZY! So I scooped up hundreds of corks to take home and am nowhere close to using them all.

When we were at the winery, my cousin asked me to make her daughter a wine cork letter for her room, so I did a variation of my wine cork “S” post.

Supplies:

  • Wine corks
  • Small wooden letter
  • Ribbon
  • Button
  • Tack
  • Hot glue

Steps:

  1. Space out the corks on the wooden letter.Cork E before
  2. Hot glue the corks straight to the wood.
  3. When the corks are all secure, place a glob of glue at the bottom of the letter to secure the ribbon.
  4. Place glue along the center of the corks, securing the ribbon as you go.
  5. When the ribbon is wrapped all the way around, fold the end under and secure with glue.
  6. Tie a bow out of the ribbon and pin it to the cork using a tack.
  7. Embellish bow with a button.

Cork E

Christmas, Craft Projects, DIY GIFT GUIDE, Gift Idea, Holiday, Jewelry, Quick and Easy Crafts, Wine Crafts

DIY GIFT GUIDE: Wine Cork Necklace

Jessica Smith

Wine Cork Cover

Day 5! This project is so versatile, depending on the corks you save. From a dark brown cork to a stark black cork to a lighter neutral cork, this necklace can turn out so many different ways.

I know I do a lot of wine cork projects, but I really love this one.

Supplies: 

  • Cork
  • Drill
  • Wire
  • Beads
  • Chain

Steps:

  1. Drill a hole straight through your cork, top down.
  2. Bend the wire in half and place a single bead on one strand. This acts as a stopper so the remaining beads don’t fall off.
  3. Place other beads onto both wires, feeding both wires through the same end of the bead.
  4. Bend the top of the wire and insert the bent wires through the cork. By bending a small part at the top in half, this allows the wires to go more smoothly through the cork.
  5. Once the wires are through, place beads on the other end.
  6. Twist both wires into a loop, then secure the wires by twisting them around the base of the loop.
  7. Thread chain through the loop and secure both ends with a jump ring. If you’d prefer a shorter chain, attach a clasp to each end instead.

Wine Cork Necklace

I like this black necklace because you don’t realize what it is immediately.

My favorite is a necklace I made out of a cork from one of my favorite wines. It has an armored knight riding a horse and it is SO COOL.

Cork Necklace

Really, I like them all.

What do you think? Would you wear it? I brought them to my craft fair thinking people would eat them up, but no one bought any. Who knows. I apparently haven’t a clue about my market haha.