Wine Cork Christmas Tree

I'm sometimes amazed at the price people will pay for home decor.  Now I understand that not everyone has been bitten by the crafting bug, but there are some seriously overpriced goods out there!  I was flipping through our latest issue of Wine Enthusiast (we have received one each week for the last three weeks - even though we've never purchased anything from it!) and I saw a Christmas tree made out of wine corks.  I thought it looked easy to do and would be cute in our dining room which has a wine theme decor.  My husband was all for it since it would use up some of the many, many corks we have collected over the years.  I was already set to make one when I got some time but was shocked when I saw the price - $39.99!!  What?!?!

Using 39 corks, ribbon, and a hot glue gun I was able to complete my tree in 20 minutes.  The resulting product is only about 6 inches wine by 7 inches high and went together very fast.

I made mine by selecting similar sized corks and making sure any red (wine dyed) ends were not in front - although that might look kinda cool since red is a holiday color.  Then I glued together the rows and finaly stacked the rows upon eachother while gluing them.  The construction of this tree began with a base row of 5 corks and then 6, 7,5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  I found a scrap of ribbon for the top.

Next you can really embellish it however you choose.  I think misting sprays would be fun or some glitter or even making a tiny paper garland or banner to adorn your tree.  I found some old pearlized powder I had and dusted some on the end of the corks to make it a shimmery green.  I think this small, quick project turned out pretty cute.  I may even try making a bigger companion tree.  So have fun.  Give it a try.  After all if you mess up, you just get to drink more wine before trying again!