How to make a wine cork wreath.

I have been wanting to make a wine cork wreath for years! But, I knew it took lots and lots of corks. When I lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I had a friend who make a cork wreath, but not only did she have a large personal stash of wine corks, she was able to get some from friends and family. 

While I am a moderate wine drinker, it has taken me awhile to get a stash of corks that I felt was big enough to make a wreath out of. 

When my vacation was canceled at the end of September, I decided to go for it and make this wreath. I shared it on Instagram and got so many compliments that I decided to share step-by-step instructions on how I made it. 

Here goes: 

Get Inspo for Your Wine Cork Wreath 

Before buying or gathering any supplies, figure out what you want your wreath to look like. I searched Pinterest for inspo and I saw wreaths that were very neat and tidy (where the corks were neatly lined up) and ones that were more random, with “scattered” corks. 

I wanted mine to look more scattered, so I found a few photos to guide me. I also knew I wanted to add a bow to it to give it some color. My original thought was a wine-colored bow, like a merlot red or a deep plum. 

How many corks do you need for a cork wreath?

I honestly don’t know where I heard it, but I had in my head that I would need 250 corks for a wreath of an average wreath size. 

When I finished, I counted all of my corks and it was really close to that number, like 247. 

You may not need that many, depending on the style of wreath you choose to do. I’ll share some tips to really using your corks wisely, too. 

The supplies you’ll need for your wine cork wreath

Here’s what I used: 

• A foam ring (they only had one size, but I found a similar one on Amazon)
• Wine Corks (you can buy them if you don’t have a stash)
• A glue gun & glue sticks 
• Picks and/or ribbon (optional)

Once I had my inspo, I went to the craft store and just started looking at everything. One thing I’ve learned about DIYs is that you have to have an open mind, because it may not work out exactly how you pictured it. 

I started off looking for ribbon and I couldn’t find anything that fit the wine shade I was looking for. They did have lots of that color, but none of it was wired — which I felt would be key. 

I wasn’t certain I wanted to add flowers or greenery, but I wanted to look while I was at the store and see what they had. While I was in the flower section, I found a great wired ribbon in the clearance bin: a plum and green plaid, which I felt like captured the colors of a vineyard and was sort of fall-ish, which is exactly what I wanted. 

I also saw a few picks that went with the colors in the ribbon, and maybe represented some greenery and wild flowers that would be in a vineyard. So, I got those, too. 

I also bought lots and lots of glue sticks! 

Assembling the Cork Wreath

I started by sorting all of my corks. I put the plain ones in a pile and knew I would use those first, because I didn’t care if they would get covered. 

I also made a pile of corks that had cool writing on them or were sentimental in some way — anything that I wanted to be seen. 

For the wreath style I wanted, I decided to focus on covering the foam ring first. 

So, I started glueing the corks down in neat rows, just so none of the white foam would show. I saved corks by not messing with the back of the ring, just the front and the sides. 

I also left a bit of a gap where I wanted to put my picks and my bow. I knew if I put corks there, they would get completely covered. 

Once I got the wreath completely covered, I dealt with the picks and the ribbon. 

I wanted it to look like I just grabbed a fitful of greenery and flowers and tied a bow around it, and voila! So I glued down the greens first, then the flowers and then made a bow. I had a cool wooden cork that I glued in the middle of the bow. 

Lastly, I used my remaining corks — the cool-looking ones — and put them in random places all over to make the wreath look a little more messy and scattered. 

Once I was done, I used a bit more of my ribbon to tie the wreath to my wreath hanger, because it was too thick to fit in the hook! 

I hung it immediately, and I absolutely love it! I have always had a Christmas wreath, and last year I made a lemon wreath for spring and summer, and this one is perfect for fall. 

Make your wreath seasonal

A cork wreath is perfect for any season — I drink wine all year! Make it seasonal by using picks, ribbon, and you could even add faux grapes or other fruit. 

This was such a fun thing to make and it’s one of a kind — I love coming home and seeing the corks from some of the best bottles of wine right there. 

I’ll admit, this is an intimidating craft, but it’s easier than I expected… and I am someone who gets impatient with DIYs. Since I used wine corks I already had, the wreath was pretty affordable. The ring, glue, ribbon, and picks were under $40 total! 

Put on a podcast and get to gluing! 

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