Category Archives: Uncategorized

Kid-friendly Caterpillar Cork board

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My son just graduated pre-school in August, as a thank you gift to his class, we gave them a caterpillar patchwork/cork board to hang on the wall.

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Each of the circles were cut from backing board; the patchwork circles were painted white and the cork boards were painted green, orange and blue, respectively.

Fabrics were chosen, cut in rectangles and glued to the surface and then trimmed. The rows were designed so that each row was maintained over the 3 circles and repetition of color rectangle per row was minimal.
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The wine corks were placed on the boards in 3 different patterns – length-wise left to right, length-wise top to bottom, and top-wise (the top of the cork on the surface).

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Baby socks were sewed and tied to cord which had been threaded at the top with stem wire. The wire was added to allow bending to give some structure to the legs.

The face was made from a smaller circle; painted white with craft eyes which were glued on. The smile and outside eye were hand-painted lines, and pipe cleaners were used as feelers.

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My son’s pre-school teachers loved it, which I am glad as they took amazing care of my son for 2 years. It gives them a great space to hang the kids arts and be able to add feature pieces whenever they need.

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Backyard Garden Design: Part 1

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Over the last year we started redesigning and transforming our back yard.

In the beginning, we started with ripping out our old, enclosed deck which we thought was horrid. We really wanted to open the space so we designed a multi-level, completely open deck with only one side railing.

These photos show it almost completed – its missing the facing wood for the steps.

  

  

Next, I started a vegetable garden. It was an amazing experience I want to share. I am so proud of my garden, I love the nurturing aspect and the delectable results. First of we needed a space – I designed a raised bed garden keeping in mind that we might want to expand if this works.

  

How did we build them?
Dimensions: The garden beds were 4 feet  wide by 6 feet in length, which means the milt-layed bed is 8 feet wide by 6 feet in length.

Materials: We made them from pressure treated grade 2 timber – 4 inches x 6 inches. We used lag screws to connect the wood frame from the outside and we used metal plate connectors in the inside for stability. Garden fabric was laid down and then the soil was added. We did purchase top soil that had fertilizer in it.

Recycling wine corks – Cork Boards

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I got into making cork boards about 15 years ago. I saw this amazing framed wine cork board in a home goods store, but it was so far out of my price range (like $200-300). I went home and wondered how I could make the same thing for next to nothing.

I made some mistakes along the way, for example very stiff cardboard is not enough for a backing to glue on corks – yes, it buckles from all the glue. Second, you need a lot of friends that drink wine 😉 that was the only way I was collecting corks.

Today, what I do is use a backing board of some kind – similar to what you would use for backing furniture. I collect corks still, but I also go to my favorite cafe/wine bar who give me the corks for free!!! I also ordered used corks online – you can get them by the box….I mix the used with wine stains and the used from online to balance out the look.

NOTE: The used corks from online means they have been printed but not with the wine stains.

Also I switched from a craft knife (scalpel) to an electric knife – saves me from slicing my finger off….btw was a common occurrence (at least once per board).

NOTE: Using an electric knife, you will need to take breaks as the knife will heat up and you don’t want to start a fire.

Finally, I just use wood glue to glue the corks on the board.

Here are two of the designs I do:The first, is more of a fun design – a circle using corks from the top/bottom, these allowed me to use the hundreds of champagne corks that I had, as they don’t work for design #2.I use a piece of string and a drawing pin (tack) to draw the circle on the backing board, and then my lovely husbands uses the sharp object to cut out the circle. Painting it some cool color and once it dries, I get into cutting the corks and glueing the corks on the board. Below are pictures of the first one I made, which my Mum received for Christmas.
Circular Cork Boards

This is a more formal looking cork board. It is framed – which, I either use second-hand frames or I make them and paint/stain them. The corks for this style are cut length-wise. I place the corks in various designs – no two are alike. Below is a picture of my cork board and matching blackboard (we use for a meal planner) that are in my kitchen.

Cork and Chalk Boards

One of my favorite things about this cork board, I was able to incorporate a wine cork of a reserve wine my brother gave us for our wedding gift….I wrote the date of our wedding on it and now its a memory we have forever.

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