Having Fun with Biltmore Wine Corks
Use your old Biltmore wine corks for easy and whimsical holiday decorations.
Biltmore Wine Cork and Twig Reindeer
These fun deer are inexpensive, quick and easy to make. Just like snowflakes, no two are alike.
Tools and Materials:
- An assortment of dry twigs, including the twiggy ends of branches, and some with the angled crotch where another twig branches off from the main stem
- Small bundle of natural raffia for tying
- Drill with small bit
- Hot Glue gun for securing legs and neck into cork
- Pruning shears for trimming twigs
- Scissors for cutting raffia
- Wine bottle cork
How to:
- Drill five small holes in, but not through, the cork for placing the four legs and the neck above. Set aside.
- Cut four straighter pieces of twig into pieces about five inches long for the legs. Cut one end straight across and cut the tapered end into a sharp point.
- Cut one of the twigs with an angled crotch for the head and neck, leaving the thinner branch about 5 inches long (again with a sharp angle at the cut end), and the heavier stem about an inch and a half long.
- Cut the antlers from two of the twiggy end branches, leaving about a one and a half inch stem below the first branching twigs.
- Place the antlers above the head and use a piece of raffia to tie into place. Run the tail end of the raffia down the neck. With the long end, wrap a time or two over the first branch of the antler, and then begin wrapping securely down the neck at the end of the antler stem, tie the two ends together and trim.
- Place a spot of hot glue in a leg hole and push the pointed end of the twig into the cork. Secure all legs and then glue the neck into the cork.
- Trim the legs if necessary to level up so you can stand your Reindeer on a mantle or table top. They look great with a mossy field to graze in on a table top.
- If you are going to hang the deer in your tree, create a hanger of raffia and tie into place.
- You can decorate your deer with a small red bead or berry for a nose, or hang a green chenille wreath around his neck. How about some mistletoe in his antlers? Merry Christmas!
Biltmore Wine Cork Beaded Christmas Ornaments and Garland
These pretty ornaments are a fun way to use old corks and look great on a tree, garland, or wreath.
Another idea—hang the ornament on a favorite bottle of wine as a gift to a friend.
Tools and Materials:
- An assortment of Biltmore wine corks
- Fine narrow ribbon and narrow gold cording
- Craft tassels
- Fancy gold-toned craft beads with large holes
- Long carpet needle with large eye
- Scissors for cutting ribbon and cording
- Pliers for pulling the needle through the cork
- Drill with small drill bit for drilling hole through center of cork
- Small saw or finely serrated knife for cutting corks in two
How to:
- Cut a few corks in half for variety in your design. Then carefully drill a hole through the length of these cut corks and some whole corks.
- To create the longer ornament, slide two or three beads over the hanging loop of the tassel.
- Cut about 20 inches of the fine ribbon and thread it through the tassel loop end, and then pull the cut ends together. Thread the cut ends through the eye of the carpet needle and pull about 4 inches through. You are now ready to thread the corks and beads in a pattern on the ribbon, with the tassel and beads as the end or bottom of the ornament.
- After you have completed a pattern to the length you want, knot the ribbon a time or two, pulling it close to the last bead. Tie another knot about three inches up the ribbon to create a hanging loop. Snip off the excess ribbon.
- To create the garland, skip the tassel, and begin your pattern with a bead or two. Rather than the ribbon, use the gold cording to string the corks and beads on.
- Cut the cording to the length you desire for your garland. Tie a loop on one end. Begin stringing the pattern with a bead, and alternate the shorter pieces of cork with more beads and the longer corks until you reach your desired length. Tie another loop in the cording, pulling the knot close to the last bead.