I hope 2014 is proving to be a great year for you! I have just returned from an almost month long trip- including going to California for the CHA Mega Show (Craft and Hobby Association). Add the holidays and a long distance move to the mix and you have the formula for missing a whole lot of blogging. Anyway, today I am sharing my Wine Cork Earring Holder project hoping to inspire you. I used a really cool patchwork fabric technique in this project in an effort to return to my much missed sewing machine.
Wine Cork Earring Holder
Materials and Tools
Walnut Hollow Basswood Canvas- 8” x 8”
Plaid Folk Art Acrylic Paint Apple Red, Daffodil Yellow, Mod Podge for Fabric
Coordinating fabric scraps
Oriental Trading Bottle Corks or recycled Wine Corks
Beacon Adhesives Premium Tacky Glue, Fast Finisg Decoupage
Sewing machine and thread, iron and pressing surface, paintbrushes, foam brush, sand paper
I was inspired to create this project for two reasons. One,I love the basswood surfaces by Walnut Hollow. Two, I created a Jewelry Holder that uses a chain to hold earrings. Great for earring with hooks attached but not so much for those that require backings. I needed a better solution.
You will need to sand the canvas and wipe it off with a lint free cloth before painting it. Then, basecoat your canvas. I chose the red color for the sides and back of the basswood canvas and yellow for the inside of the canvas. Note that I am using the back of the canvas as the front since I am going to use the insides of the canvas to hold the corks in place.
While rhe coat is drying, grab your fabrics and head to the ironing board. I cut my fabric into strips that are about 2" x 4" and pinned them right sides together, like this. I used four different fabric peices to coordinate with my selection of acrylic paint colors.
Next, sew your fabrics together, patchwork style at the pinned seams, removing the pins as you sew. if you are an experienced sewer, you may not want to pin at all. Just remember to sew a 1/4" seam allowance with the fabrics right sides together.
Use the iron to press the seams open, then cut your pieces into thin strips measuring 1/2" x 4." Note that I am cutting the strips into peices that fit the outside of the canvas. (almost!)
If you like an especially scrappy look, you can use the sewing machine to free form black stitches to the strips as I did here.
If your canvas has been painted with two coats of paint and is dry, it's time to decoupage the strips to the outside edges of the canvas using the medium and foam brush. If you have never decoupaged with fabric before, you are in for a treat. It's much easier than using paper as the fabric does not get air bubbles usually. You may need to overlap some pieces or trim them down to fit the sides of the box.
Finally, to complete your wine cork earring display, arrange the corks inside the box to make sure they fit in an arrangement to your liking. Cork projects are all the rage now. You can use recycled corks that you have saved for this project. Personally, I never seem to remember to save them so I found them available for sale in bulk from Oriental Trading. I really like these as they come in two different sizes and they are also printed in a wine theme, which lends an authentic flavor to them.
It's wise to arrange the corks first then use the glue to hold them in place. Now I have a better solution for holding earrings with backings!
I hope this inspires you and gives you a reason to pull out those fabrics scraps and wine corks to create something functional. What have you made with wine corks?
no wine corks here but I love this project!
Posted by: Char Kochensparger | February 8, 2014 at 08:36 PM