What about this?

For a person who likes to collect things, recycle, and drink wine, this was the perfect rainy day project for me! Several years ago I received a small, child-sized chalkboard as part of a gag gift. Being the perfect size for a desk top message board, I decided to hang on to it and figured I’d put it to good use one of these days. Well, that day arrived after I spied a project I liked and could easily make myself, while browsing through Etsy, an internet shopping site for handcrafted goods. After about a half hour’s worth of work – most of which was spent on deciding which corks to use – I have a wine lover’s chalkboard, complete with a little shelf to store the chalk! I made good use of the chalkboard and recycled some of the corks I’ve saved, not to mention, I have a decorative way to display messages! Now, what to do with all the rest of the corks I’ve collected?

Supplies Needed to Make the Wine Lover’s Chalkboard:
1 small chalkboard with frame
Hot glue gun and glue stick
About 2 dozen wine corks, depending on the size of the chalkboard
Scrap paper
Chalk

Directions:
1. Select the wine corks for the project. I looked for corks that had interesting phrases or designs printed on them.

2. Place corks on the wooden frame and rearrange them until you’re satisfied with the layout. By using varying lengths of cork, I was able to avoid cutting any of them.

3. Cover the “slate” portion of the board with a piece of scrap paper to protect the surface from glue.

4. After selecting which part of the corks are to be face up,  glue them down one by one. Start gluing the corks end-to-end on the top border and then work down one side and then the other. Finally, glue the bottom ends of the corks (they should be standing up) to the bottom part of the frame to create a shelf.

6. Break the chalk in half and place the chalk on the shelf.

7. A sawtooth picture hanger or picture wire could easily be added to the back if you want this project too hang on a wall versus lean against a wall.

I’m working on a few other creative ideas for wine cork usage, but if you have any brilliant ideas, pass them on to me. I’d love to hear about them!