Upcycle: DIY Corks

Have you been collecting your corks like I have, in the hopes of one day doing a Pinterest project with them? Crack out those glue guns! I finally got around to making some trivets, and they are going to make my holiday table much more festive.

All you need is: 

• a few dozen corks, wine or sparkling wine types both work. 
• saw (optional)
• a hot glue gun
• decorative ribbon in your favorite colors

For my trivets, I cut the regular wine corks down, so I could have a few different trivets of varying heights. This also helped with evening out the heights of the corks, since not all corks are the same size. 

Once you have enough corks of similar size gathered, simply glue them together. (The champagne corks are a little less stable, since they have a curvy edge, so I'm gluing a felt base on for added strength.) Then glue a band of ribbon around the trivet as a finishing touch. Viola - they are now ready to rest your pots and pans on!

Not finding a project you want to do, or just not feeling crafty? Both synthetic and natural corks are recyclable. When you go to buy your next bottle of wine, your liquor store or wine shop of choice may have a collection bin. Total Wine's look like this, located right at the store entrance.