25 Days of Hand Crafted Gifts and Ornaments - Wine Cork Trivet

Continuing with the 25 days of hand crafted goodies today's gift idea is perfect for the guy or gal on your list that's also a wine lover!  This would be my Mom in our family ;)

You're going to need 4 basic supplies all of which can be found for free or very cheap!  First you're going to need a board to create your trivet on...I am using a scrap of wood that my Dad was throwing away.  You can get small cut off boards from the lumbar yard very cheap...usually just .50 or so.  Next you're going to need a supply of wine corks.  I got my supply from my Mom.  If you know someone who works at a nice restaurant you can ask them to save the corks for you or if you like, collect your own ;)

You will also need a hot glue gun and a bit of black (or other color) acrylic paint.

Instructions:

1. Sand all edges of the board to be sure there are no splinters or rough edges.

2. Paint all sides of the boards with the acrylic paint.  Let dry completely.

3. Cut each cork in half.  I used my Exacto Knife but a utility knife would work just as well.

4. Lay the corks out on the board to determine what pattern you'd like to use.  I went with this diagonal design...

5. Glue down each cork following the design you decided on.  You may need to cut some corks as you reach the edges so be sure and have a few extra corks to use as end and filler pieces. 

6. Once all of the corks have been glued to the board, flip the trivet over and glue on 4-5 small pieces of sheet cork.  This will ensure that the trivet will stay where you put it!

And your trivet is done!

You've got a really nifty one of a kind wine cork trivet to give or keep.  One thing's for sure...it will definately keep your counter, table, etc. safe and jazz up your kitchen at the same time.