Wine cork necklace

Show off the cork from your favorite adult beverage.  Use a recycled wine cork or two, and craft supplies you might have on hand to create this charming, vintage-inspired necklace. Not only are you using recycled materials to make this fun necklace you can personalize it to your taste by adding different color crystals. Handmade jewelry is fun to wear because it is unique.

Materials and tools for wine cork necklace:

• Flat wooden circle, 1-1/2”
• Recycled wine corks, two
• Reclaimed jewelry chain with three clasps at center
• Silver jump rings, 10mm, four
• Beadalon Stainless Steel Memory Wire, 32-gauge
• Flat-backed crystals: 4mm, one package; 6mm, two
• Vintage book page
• Stamps: script background, small butterfly
• Circle punch, 3/8”
• Wire cutters
• Pliers: chain-nose, round-nose
• Hand saw and cutting surface
• Hand drill
• Jacquard Products Paints: Neopaque Brown, White; Lumiere Pearlescent Blue
• Ink pads: black pigment, green chalk
• Beacon Adhesives Adhesives: Liquid Laminate, Gem-Tac Permanent Adhesives
• foam brush, paintbrush, sponge dauber, newspaper (to cover work surface)

Directions to make a wine cork necklace:

1. Working on protected surface, use hand saw to cut three 1/4”-thick discs from one cork. Cut remaining cork in half lengthwise; set aside one half for future project.
2. Paint one disc Pearlescent Blue and wooden circle Brown; let dry.
3. Use black pigment ink and script stamp to stamp two remaining cork discs. Ink edges of all cork discs and cork half with green chalk ink. Stamp butterfly in center of blue disc. Let all pieces dry.
4. Use hand drill to drill holes in two script discs and at top and bottom of wooden circle. Drill hole in top of cork half.
5. Punch circle from vintage book page. Use Liquid Laminate and foam brush to découpage paper to center of wooden circle; let dry. Use Gem-Tac Adhesive to adhere blue disc to center of wooden circle.
6. Use Gem-Tac Adhesive to adhere crystals to edge of blue disc, to centers of script discs, and to cork half in curving pattern as shown. Let dry.
7. Cut 2” length from Memory Wire coil. Bend wire in half, dot ends with Gem-Tac Adhesive, and insert into hole in top of cork half. Let dry.
8. Use chain-nose pliers to open four jump rings. Insert open ends through four drilled holes in cork discs and wooden circle.
9. Join discs and wooden circle to chain as shown; close jump rings using round-nose pliers. Join cork half to bottom of wooden circle; close jump ring.