~ homemade: cork and thread inspired details part I ~

Yeah for Thursday!  I look forward to this day every week...as it is the day that I get to post my homemade project for the week.  Don't get me wrong, I am usually exhausted by the time Thursday comes around, but it is all worth it to finally get the post up! 

So for this week's post I have a handful of easy DIY projects...and one that isn't so much difficult, as it is a little time consuming.  Yet nonetheless I am super excited about today's projects!  So here is the end result...

Cute, no?  I made fabric covered cork coasters, a cork backed menu card, cork table numbers, thread letters on cork, and thread wrapped wine glass stems and vase!  So let's start with the easy DIY project of fabric covered coasters shall we?  All that is needed is some fabric, a 4 pack of cork coasters ($1.99 at Michaels) and spray adhesive.  Just spray the coasters, place the fabric on top and trim...a perfect favor when wrapped with some thread...

Or you could use at each place with cute, easy detail of wrapping thread around the stems of each glass.  Just tie at one end and wrap round and round...

To attach cork to the back of a menu card is as easy as using spray adhesive...

And for an extra little touch I just wrapped some thread around both. Almost done...still with me?  I hope so because I am over the moon about these cork shaped table numbers...

To make the cork numbers I cut two identical pieces from a cork roll that had adhesive on the back.  Lay the first piece cork side down, remove the protective paper to access the adhesive.  Then place two pieces of floral wire down the length of the cork (don't worry if the wire is longer...you can trim after the other piece is on).  Next remove the protective paper off the second piece of cork and lay on top of the first piece...like making a sandwich...hmm I must be hungry.  Next you just bend the cork to form the number you want.  My pieces for the 2 and 5 in these pictures was about 13 1/2 inches long and about 2 1/2 inches wide (so they sit standing up), which you can do all numbers with except 8.  For a number 8 use a longer peice, cut the piece into two and form two circles.  Place one circle on top of the other and adhere with hot glue or super glue.  So sorry that I didn't take any pictures of this...if interested please let me know and I can do up step-by-step instructions with pictures for you!  And finally, my cute thread initials and heart...

For the initials (the more time consuming project of the bunch) I backed the cork squares with foam board for extra added thickness for the pins to sink into.  Just use spary adhesive to attach the foam board to the cork.  I then just started putting pins in for each initial.  I did mine freehand...but you could easily use a stencil or you can print them, cut them out and follow the outline.  Try not to use too many pins or pull to hard when threading.  I started with one pin, tied a knot and then looped around the next - make sure that each time you loop around a pin it is in the same direction each and every time...otherwise it doesn't look right!  I continued like this until it had the depth that I wanted and then just tied it off.  I added some fabric peices to dress it up a bit, but you could easily frame these in frames without glass...and colors would be fun to use too!  As you can see in the picture below...they are three dimensional...

Stay tuned for Part II coming up with a couple more quick ideas, and lots more pictures!

~ Ciao

...photography by me