She's Crafty - Girls Night In
All my posts' titles are ending up as song lyrics. I'll try to be more creative. Oops, I just remembered that I've already got two posts with more lyrics in the hopper. From this time forward, I promise that any new post titles will be sans lyrics (as I type with one hand and fingers crossed behind my back.)
One of my best girlfriends called earlier in the week to invite me to a craft party this Friday night - with wine, of course. Now those that know me probably think that this is right up my alley. I've crafted some pretty cool things, especially for the boys' birthday parties, school events, etc. But I have to tell you, when I first listened to my friend's message, I was a little circumspect. See, the things I create I like to think of as works of art. I am an artiste. I channel Renoir, Bearden, Seurat and more often, Van Gogh complete with crazy talk. I kid, but not about the crazy talk.
When I think of crafts I think of animal puppets made out of brown paper lunch bags, pine cones dipped in glue and bird seed, and the unremarkable pre-packaged crap craft from Oriental Trading Co. I love my friend and spending time with her so I racked my brain for something that was unique yet uncomplicated. (Remember, there will be alcohol at our girls night in.) First things first, what wine will I bring? Wine and craft? Wine and craft? Ding, ding, ding! A wine cork trivet!
This is no ordinary wine cork trivet. A few years ago, I was in a quandary over what to do with my overflowing fishbowl cork catchall. I came up with this:
Leftover corks, about 65 per 7 inch trivet
One of my best girlfriends called earlier in the week to invite me to a craft party this Friday night - with wine, of course. Now those that know me probably think that this is right up my alley. I've crafted some pretty cool things, especially for the boys' birthday parties, school events, etc. But I have to tell you, when I first listened to my friend's message, I was a little circumspect. See, the things I create I like to think of as works of art. I am an artiste. I channel Renoir, Bearden, Seurat and more often, Van Gogh complete with crazy talk. I kid, but not about the crazy talk.
When I think of crafts I think of animal puppets made out of brown paper lunch bags, pine cones dipped in glue and bird seed, and the unremarkable pre-packaged crap craft from Oriental Trading Co. I love my friend and spending time with her so I racked my brain for something that was unique yet uncomplicated. (Remember, there will be alcohol at our girls night in.) First things first, what wine will I bring? Wine and craft? Wine and craft? Ding, ding, ding! A wine cork trivet!
This is no ordinary wine cork trivet. A few years ago, I was in a quandary over what to do with my overflowing fishbowl cork catchall. I came up with this:
This is what you will need:
10" hose clamp (see photo, not sure this is the correct name)
screw driver (to tighten hose clamp)
17 gauge wire
17 gauge wire
bull-nosed pliers (with integrated wire cutter)
needle nose pliers (optional
needle nose pliers (optional
Set your clamp to the size you like (the larger the diameter, the more corks you'll need.) Stand corks up with all the stained ends in the same direction, continue until the corks are pretty tightly packed. Tighten the ring with screwdriver as much as possible. With the ring still in place, wrap wire around the diameter of corks and leaving a generous tail, cut wire. Cross wires as you would begin to tie a shoe (be careful not to kink wire) then twist ends together using bull-nosed pliers. You will be able to feel the corks tightening up. Be careful and go slowly - it's easy to twist so tight that the wire breaks. Clip excess down to where the twist ends and fold the remainder down or to the side with needle nose pliers. Remove clamp and repeat leaving about 1/2" between wires. Tip: Make sure that the twist knots for each wire are parallel.
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