I made a new corkboard for my sewing room. I got the idea from a house we rented in Paradise Valley, Montana on a trip to Yellowstone. They had one in the kitchen by the phone and used it for posting photos & messages.
I fell in love with the concept, and even though I’m not a wine drinker, I started a campaign to collect as many wine corks as possible so I could make my own. After 2 years, I had only collected half a shoebox full. Thanks to the miracle of Craigslist, I found a wine collector who had saved 12 years worth of corks from around the world and had decided to unload them for $10. Imagine my surprise when he handed me a trash bag full. Seven one-gallon Ziploc bags full, to be exact. I was stunned and thrilled simultaneously. I went straight to Hobby Lobby and bought a frame and a black foam backer board and got to work. It took about 2 hours to arrange and then individually glue each cork into place.
I love it. It looks great, and it’s fully functional. And it was inexpensive to make, since the frame was on sale. Total cost was about $35. Because it’s made with a foam backer board, an open-back frame and natural corks, it’s very lightweight, so it was easy to hang. I added a metal hook rack (also from Hobby Lobby) below it to hang my scissors and sewing stuff on. Now it’s fun and functional. I had made a larger corkboard last year so I could post all my crafting dreams for inspiration, so it’s nice to have a matching set.
The ribbon rack below the larger corkboard is a metal paper towel holder I found on a clearance rack for $8. It’s the perfect size to hold spools of ribbon for future projects or gift wrapping. And I found a black silverware drawer organizer for $4 that holds spools of thread perfectly (under the acrylic sewing platform). As you can see from large jars in the back corner of this photo, I still have gallons of corks left. I love it when I can be creative and cheap at the same time. Sometimes the stars just align.
