Ottoman Tray Lined With Wine Corks

Happy Thursday y'all!  One more day before the weekend.

I worked on a fun little project yesterday.  I still had hundreds of wine corks leftover after making my wine cork wreath amazingly enough.

And I've had ideas swirling around in my head of what I wanted to do with them.

Like coasters and a trivet as pictured below:

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I came across a tray, while upstairs decluttering in the bonus room one day, made out of wicker and metal.  I knew the moment I saw it what I wanted to do.

Can you guess?  No...I'm not going to just toss them in there, although that may look okay too...I wanted to make a "Wine Cork Tray" to sit on my ottoman, that is if I ever get it done.

I Googled of course, prior to starting it, to see all the many designs that other folks have done.  I had a hard time deciding too because they all look great.

But I found one I really like and went with it.  I armed myself with my trusty glue gun and began.

As you can see, the corks are glued onto a thick piece of a moving box that I cut to fit, I didn't want to glue them directly to the wicker in case I got tired of the look.  This way, I can just pry the board out, corks and all and the wicker will still be there safe, sound and unharmed.  Plus, this provides a good, even base so all the corks will line up perfectly, we wouldn't want someone to place their glass of wine on there and have it topple over because of an uneven surface, know what I mean?

I made the outer ring with the writing on the corks hidden to give it a little contrast.  As you see in the photo below, not only is there a pattern with the corks, I also alternated writing side to plain side.

I did have to make some cuts here and there, but it wasn't difficult with a super sharp knife and careful measuring (or eyeballing).

The whole project from beginning to end only took me about 1 1/2 hours.  I put on my favorite movie of all time, Sabrina (the one with Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford) and just glue-gunned myself silly.

The center 12 are "special occasion corks", I placed them in the middle all grouped together.  I have to admit, I love the way it turned out.  How about that unique little black cork?  I had to do it, I don't even remember what that wine was, whether it was a special occasion or not but I wanted it in the tray.  It'll make for good conversation I'm sure.

I love how you can still see the wicker on the sides, it's like it was meant to be, the wicker is the perfect height to cradle the corks.

So there we have it, a quick, easy, inexpensive ottoman tray.  I already had everything I needed so this project cost me zero, now that's what I call a good deal!  But you can purchase a tray for very little and surely you have this many corks stashed here and there, a glue gun, glue sticks and a good movie...that's all it takes.

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for her tips on capturing the "blue hour" and sharing the site that shows you exactly when the blue hour is in your area, I finally got a decent shot of the blue hour outside our breakfast room window.  I think I should have waited a few more minutes but this will do for now, practicing with my new camera can only improve my shots...hopefully.

Have a great day y'all.

I shared this post with all the great blogs hosting link parties found here.
as well as,
Met Monday - Susan @ Between Naps On The Porch
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday - Linda @ Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wednesday - Kim @ Savvy Southern Style
Transformed Tuesdays - Peggy @ PJH Designs
Treasure Hunt Thursday - Pamela @ From My Front Porch To Yours
Penny Pinching Party - Jen @ The Thrifty Home
Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits - Yvonne @ Stonegable
Wildly Original - Christina @ I Gotta Create!
Home Sweet Home - Sherry @ The Charm of Home
Best DIY Projects February - Traci @ Beneath My Heart