Crafting with Cork

For Earth Day, the Rockefeller Center Anthropologie store

in New York City had these pretty windows {more here}:

Thousands and thousands of old wine corks were used.

Aside from just drawing visual interest,

Anthropologie also wanted to create awareness

that cork is a champion for the environment.

Cork is 100% natural, renewable, recyclable and

biodegradable. It also curbs climate change by

restraining 9 grams of carbon dioxide.

Hooray for cork, right?!

As part of their Earth Day efforts, the store also

had workshops like "Crafting with Cork".

I eagerly signed up!

Here are some members of the store's display team who

headed the workshop. Nature is one of their sources of

inspiration and they use a lot of recycled items for

their window displays. Don't they have the coolest job?

We assembled in one corner of the store...

...and witnessed how cork can turn from

blah to TADA!

We were each given a paper bag with filled with little

disks made out of cork {old wine corks sliced with a

blade}. Each paper bag was sealed using a needle.

To start off the project, we were also given these

little cork circles {made from 6 disks sewn together}.

We were free to choose thread color and

different colored cork disks {dyed with Rit}.

Thimbles were also on hand to help us

get the threaded needle into the cork.

Most of us got so involved with our project.

We made more cork circles and connected these

together with needle & thread to create anything

from a coaster to a trivet!

Here's what I made.

Not quite a heart-shaped trivet, but I've included

the vintage year of some wines {ex. 2006, 2007, 2008};

these years being memorable travel years for me.

You can do the same by saving the wine corks

of the year you graduated, were married,

had a baby, had a promotion or other

years that you consider TADA!