What can I do with a buttload of wine corks?

January 13, 2010 9:55 AM

What can I do with a buttload of wine corks?

Many years ago I was at a friend's house and noticed a homemade bulletin board made out of wine corks. I said to myself, "Self, I'd really like to do that some day." So from that day onward I began saving my wine corks.

My wife and I drink a lot of wine and I'm generally pretty lazy, so flash forward a few years and I've got several grocery bags full of corks and I haven't done anything with them. There's a mix of natural and artificial (rubber/plastic) corks and maybe a couple champagne corks. If I had to make a wild guess I'd say if I laid them all out on their sides I'd have about six square feet of cork.

I have no real need for a bulletin board but I'd like to put them to use. I'm pretty handy and I really enjoy projects that require a mix of different skills.

What are some good projects that would use a bunch of corks?

posted by bondcliff to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (27 answers total)

This article might be of use for you.
posted by melissasaurus at 10:01 AM on January 13, 2010

First off, blog whatever you do. I'm sure there's a book deal out there for 1,001 uses for corks.

Secondly, I would buy some circles of plywood or cardboard, glue the corks to it, put a circle of glass on top, and have a cheese tray.
posted by jefficator at 10:02 AM on January 13, 2010

A friend of mine makes wreaths from wine corks.
posted by mkb at 10:10 AM on January 13, 2010

Make yourself a cork life jacket, as modeled by this gentleman.
posted by Coobeastie at 10:10 AM on January 13, 2010

My immediate thought, based solely on the title of the post, was to use them as buttplugs.
posted by 8dot3 at 10:16 AM on January 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

Cork car, cork table, cork chair, cork art.
posted by Midnight Rambler at 10:16 AM on January 13, 2010

We put ours in a huge glass vase and keep it on the buffet. It's a work in progress but it looks nice and it's an interesting conversation piece. :)
posted by fusinski at 10:24 AM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

"My immediate thought, based solely on the title of the post, was to use them as buttplugs"

Reminds me of the time I told a colleague how badly I was suffering with the squits. He recommended champagne, and when I asked if it was good because of the bubbles he said he didn't know, but that the cork was just the right shape.

Anyway, what to do with a cork: a list here and here.
posted by MuffinMan at 10:26 AM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

Cork Boat. (I helped with assembling some of the cork bundles a couple of times.)
posted by OmieWise at 10:29 AM on January 13, 2010

Response by poster: My immediate thought, based solely on the title of the post, was to use them as buttplugs

Then I'd have to wait an entire week before I can ask Metafilter how to remove a cork from my butt.

These are great ideas. I love that cork baseboard in the linked article.
posted by bondcliff at 10:30 AM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you're near Houston, you could donate them to these people (pdf link) and they will recycle them and donate money to cancer research.
posted by kongg at 10:50 AM on January 13, 2010

My friend Jan is pretty much an expert on this topic.
posted by nanojath at 10:51 AM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

corkboard
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 11:37 AM on January 13, 2010 [1 favorite]

a friend of mine is making a chessboard out of her collection.
posted by bam at 11:44 AM on January 13, 2010

Synthetic wine corks burn really well. Skewer one and hold it aloft; the flaming droplets of liquified plastic fall in streaks of blue fire, with a really great sizzling whoosh.
posted by Mars Saxman at 11:52 AM on January 13, 2010

I would make a hip-hugging dress out of them.
posted by Sully at 12:04 PM on January 13, 2010

We took a butler's tray and lined the bottom of it. You could search Flickr pictures tagged cork for some good ideas.
posted by fixedgear at 12:20 PM on January 13, 2010

Not really a project, but sometimes restaurants or other businesses will offer a discount if you bring in old corks. Check out this website for more information.
posted by derogatorysphinx at 12:35 PM on January 13, 2010

You could build a cork boat.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 1:18 PM on January 13, 2010

I'm about halfway through wittling a chess set with them. Use real corks rather than rubber ones for best results.
posted by jeisme at 1:41 PM on January 13, 2010

CORK GUN
posted by adamdschneider at 1:57 PM on January 13, 2010

Seconding trivets. My grandfather used to make ones that looked like this, and gave them to everyone in the family. I think he used photo frames or something, not a kit. Now that he's died, they're too meaningful to actually use, but they're still pretty cute (and were useful when he was alive).
posted by alphasunhat at 4:50 PM on January 13, 2010

Seconding a wreath. My mum made one for my dad and it was awesome. She didn't use a kit, just a styrofoam round wreath base and glued the corks all around it. She alternated the coloured and plain ones and it turned out brilliantly.
posted by fantine at 4:51 PM on January 13, 2010

Picture frame, mirror frame. My former room mate had one that was beautiful.
The corks (none plastic) were laid flat, like in the trivet pictures linked above.

Kind of like this one, but not so massive.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:29 PM on January 13, 2010

Attach them to the top of a coffee table ( or two) and put a sheet of glass over them. Box the edges in with some trim. Use your imagination for different patterns. Round, random, spiral, spell a word, etc. Good conversation piece. If you make a dress as "Sully" suggested, post a picture. :P
posted by Taurid at 11:52 PM on January 13, 2010

Do you have a hat and some string and a really big head and are there flies where you live?
posted by Sutekh at 5:45 AM on January 14, 2010

bondcliff: how to remove a cork from my butt.
I would be VERY careful with a regular corkscrew.
sorry...
posted by Drasher at 9:49 AM on January 14, 2010