quirky cork board, detail
Item one in a series on old (and new) favorite projects: kitchen cork board made from wine corks.
Here is the story: in college I worked at a big name arts and crafts store and actually made a few purchases using the employee discount. One purchase was a 16 x 19 inch goldish and old-looking frame and may be the only gold item in our home… I really can’t think of anything else; I’m more of an oil-rubbed bronze, iron and silver girl.
Also in college I had a dear friend who worked at a local Italian restaurant that served the best ever stuffed shells and gave out free matchbooks. Jessica collected the wine bottle corks seen above and gave them all to me at once; I think she knew I was dreaming up a good scheme for the goldish and old-looking frame.
Materials used: random corks smelling slightly of wine, one substantial frame with wood backing, one small coping saw and lastly, as much carpenter glue as needed to get the job done. The best-kept secret tip is that all of the corks must be sawed down the middle, top to bottom, to make two “corks,” each with a rounded and a flat side. This doubles the amount of usable cork and provides a flat surface with which one can then glue the cork to the board and expect it to stick.
This was a simple project and I’ve used it for years. And years. It followed me through college, to all our apartments, and even now is in our kitchen at the house. As for the tacks, I’ve been collecting the lapel pins from souvenir shops in countries, states or cities I’ve lived in/visited. A decor belief I hold to, however loosely: what is hung on walls in kitchens ought to be as functional as possible. Clocks. Chalk boards. Calendars. Cork Boards. Black vintage wall-hung phones when you have them.
And yes, that is the Eagle and Child pub. Lewis, Tolkien, Inklings, everything.
kitchen cork board, door, window
