Crafting with Cork- Jeni from Two Shades of Lovely

Once again it's Not-Friday.  At least Not-Friday means it's almost Friday.  Plus this is a good Not-Friday since I have a fun new friend guest posting on the blog! I love having guest bloggers who are crafty or culinary types because I am not! Not even a little! So without further ado, here's the fabulous Jeni. 

 

Hi Everyone!

I'm Jeni - the girl behind the blog - Two Shades of Lovely

It started with a small idea my friend Kendel and I had...we loved making headbands out of re-purposed materials, and vintage laces and evolved into Two.Shades.Of.Lovely. I fell in love with the blogging portion of our little venture and have made it into a place where I can share some of my fun DIY ideas, talk about life as a mom and a wife, and connect with all of you lovelies!

By day, I am a full time Judge's Assistant for our local Courts, wife to my very own sarcastic, faux-hawked Prince Charming, and mother to a little boy with a smile as big as the world and blue eyes that will melt anyone's heart! I love anything mint (color or flavor!), can probably outplay you at any of those nerdy video games (my hubs taught me well!), and can try and try, but am convinced I will never master painting my own nails.

I'm so excited to be guest posting with Leigh-Ellen (it's my first guest post!) 

We connected when she was the best blog swap buddy I could have asked for as part of the Secret Blogger Swap over at Framed Frosting!

I'm always looking for easy, cheap ways to spruce up the bare walls in my home. The great part about this DIY Cork Wall hanging is that part of the fun is drinking enough wine to collect the corks to design your wall hanging (you can also ask local restaurants for their corks, or solicit your friends like I did so you don't have to drink 80 bottles of wine!)

Supplies Needed

Corks 

(for the 12" x 8" size I made, I used about 80 corks, so this is subject to the size that you want to make!)

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

Cardboard

(Cardstock is a tad too flimsy, and don't worry, the cardboard can be ugly (I used an old diaper box) after all you are covering it!

Step One: Designing your Base

Draw out your letter.

This is where you can be creative...you can freehand sketch your letter, any way you'd like or use fonts from your computer, print out an image large enough and use it as a stencil.

The "Q" I did for our last name was about 12" x 8" 

(I never  claimed to be an artist, but at least my sketch marks will be covered by corks!)

Step 2: Gluing the Corks Down

To ensure that the corks stick together and do not pull away from each other, gluing them requires a small dot on the bottom or base of the cork, and a line of glue down the side (or sides) that will be touching other corks.

You'll notice if you skip the line of glue down the side, your corks will start to split apart, especially after hanging.

Also, don't be worried if your corks are not the same size, or have chunks out of them, or don't quite match up - the finished product will look great with the differences.

Step 3: Display your work of art!

I displayed ours in our kitchen. The best part is, I put a nail in the wall and was able to hang the Q from a space between the corks!

Now, start drinking more wine - you have more of these to make for gifts!

*Tip: If you don't want to give away a cork letter with unfinished cardboard on the back, I've backed letters with both felt and pretty scrapbook paper, and both have worked out just fine, simply cut around the cardboard and glue to the back.*

Thanks for coming by! I hope to chat with all of you soon!

In honor of my first guest post, we're offering 15% off on everything in our etsy shop! It's summer, come spruce up your hair with a cute flower (or seven!)

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