How to Make a Cute and Rustic Picture Frame Using Recycled Wine Corks

At the risk of painting myself as a bit of an alcoholic, I’ve been on a DIY spree lately trying to use up all of the wine corks I’ve amassed over the years. If you enjoyed my cork placecard holders and cork mini planters, check out this new tutorial for a rustic cork-adorned picture frame where you can display your favorite memories. It’s really easy to do and you can even make customized ones as anniversary gifts using corks from bottles you’ve shared with your loved ones or significant other.

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DIY Wine Cork Picture Frame

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

– a photo frame (I used a 5″x7″ wooden frame I picked up at a secondhand shop for $3)
– wine corks (My frame required 16 corks but you might need more or less depending on the size of your frame)
– a sharp knife (I found a serrated bread knife to work the best)
– a cutting board
– a hot glue gun and hot glue
– a wet cloth or paper towel

Step 1: Using a wet cloth or paper towel, wipe down your frame and make sure it’s clean and dry.

Step 2: Next, begin lining your corks up along the edge of your frame to get an approximation of how many you will need to use. Note that whatever number you get here will need to be halved since you’ll be splitting your corks in half.

Step 3: Once you know about how many corks you’ll be using, begin splitting them carefully on a flat surface like a cutting board. I found that using a serrated knife and gentle back and forth motions worked best as opposed to trying to cut through them with one slice.

Step 4: When you’ve got your halved corks ready, fire up your glue gun. Starting in one corner, begin by dropping a bead of glue and laying down your first cork half.

Step 5: Then continue going around the perimeter of your frame.

TIP: When you get to the next corner, start laying down your corks in the perpendicular direction.

Step 6: Use caution when you get to the last 2 or 3 corks. You may need to space them out a bit or squeeze them in in order to make them fit perfectly.