fun with cork!

   Working with corks is super fun!  This week I made letters out of cork, and I've already got some other ideas that I'm making tomorrow ;)  For the "E" I made, I already had a plain block letter that I was just able to super glue to, so that took no time.  However, I don't have a lot of block letters laying around so I had to get creative..

   With kabob skewers, I made a frame for the letter "A" before ever even working with corks. The frame doesn't have to be anything special, just a base to secure the corks to.  Once that was finished, I started arranging the corks.  It's super simple, you just have to make them fit.  Feel free to cut down corks and even cut them in half to secure them better.  After the front was finished, I glued two corks to the back of the letter to allow it to free stand.  

Here's a look at the finished project...

Happy corking :)

E

minute ideas

1). I don't always have a whole day to sit and do crafts (although I wish I did!!!). I've come up with some ideas that took me under 30 minutes that you can use and alter to fit your space.  

  Using wine bottles as vases!  I got a lovely bouquet of lilies from a special someone and once they started dying :( I decided I wanted to savor the ones I could!  In the picture below, I used one in my coffee table box and it just popped!  Also, if you haven't read 'Snog' I HIGHLY recommend it. 

2). I had an old cork board that was falling apart and instead of ditching it, I re-vamped it! I spray painted the edges first, with a shiny metallic gold.  Once that dried, I simply stapled fabric to the cork.  It was easy, and took me about 10 minutes (in pieces) and now makes a cute little background to my (also re-vamped) coat hanger :)

3). BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS! I can't get enough of books, to read and to decorate with! Using books anywhere and everywhere is a super easy decorating tool.  Stack them, cover them, use them as book-ends. You can get books at antique shops for pretty cheap or acquire a few at a garage sale.
Get creative with them :)

4). Coverin canvases... oh how I love this idea!

   At HobLob I got 5/8 of a fabric that I liked and stapled the fabric around the back of the canvas, on the wooden frame.  The fabrics I chose were just random ones that I thought would fit together on my wall above my bed.  Stapling the fabric was super easy, just folding around the corners:)  

Good luck!

coffee table box

   Need to spice up your coffee table?  Go from this...

to this...

   

   Yet another easy project to give your place a little flair.  That [not so cute] leather remote holder I got from Bed, Bath & Beyond a loooong time ago and decided it just needed a little update!  The fabric is from HobLob (on sale, even!) and was left over from another project.  My staple gun I also got from HobLob (and I would highly recommend getting one, I've used it a TON!).  I started stapling the bottom first before the sides and that worked really well for me.  Once I got the bottom secured, it was easy to fold and staple to finish the project.  Here's a look at some steps I took to get to the final project. 

 

Make sure to pull the fabric tight before stapling, you want it to look smooth.

more to come :)

E