wine

wine cork ornament DIY

| circadee

Tell me you don’t have a big ol’ pile of wine corks somewhere.

In a drawer.  In a vase.  In your liquor cabinet.

If you are just a little bit crafty (and like wine), you’ve most likely stashed some corks like I did, right?  Just waiting for some trash-to-treasure project inspiration.  Well, here it is friends!

wine cork tree ornament diy

Start by gathering these supplies…

cork tree ornament supplies

For the corks, be sure to use the porous ones – actual corks.  The waxy ones just don’t adhere well.

I played around with a few different layouts before I got started.  I found that the bulky champagne corks made great “tree trunks”.  Plus they tend to be more decorative on top.

wine cork tree ornament

  • First, drill a hole perpendicular through the center of the cork so you can loop your twine through.  I used 6 inch pieces of twine for the ornament hanger.cork tree ornament
  • This is totally optional but if you’d like to attach a name tag, now is the time.  Punch (or cut) a circle out of card stock.  Use the hole punch to create a small hole and loop the twine through before knotting it.  This step allows you to double the ornament as a name tag on a wrapped gift!wine cork tree ornament
  • Now let’s assemble.  Glue a horizontal line each cork and attach one at a time.  Make sure to use your ornament hanger as the top cork.wine cork tree ornament

That’s it!wine cork tree ornament

These ornaments are fun and easy to make but the best part is acquiring enough corks.

wine cork tree ornament DIY

Because you probably already have all of the other necessary materials.

wine cork tree ornament supplies

wine down

| circadee

I had the opportunity to do a little wine-ing down this weekend.  A much-needed girls getaway for sure!  Have you ever been to Long Island?

Long Island Wine Trail

I was completely blown away by the beauty.  It boasts everything I love rolled into one, well, long island. We stayed in North Fork, Suffolk county on a harbor nestled amongst the wineries.

LI wine trail

The majestic fall color was in its prime.

Long Island Wine Trail 7

Vineyards galore.  One right after another and then another and another.

Long Island Wine Trail 4

Antique stores!  Yes, Long Island had some gorgeous little shops full of inspiring displays.

Long Island Wine Trail 7

Long Island Wine Trail 6

Clever repurposing ideas.  I’d love to replicate this wine bottle “wall” somewhere.

Long Island Wine Trail 2

Beautiful old farmhouses and farm markets…all along the bay.

Long Island Wine Trail 3

Long Island Wine Trail 9

If you are looking for a getaway, I’d highly recommend a weekend trip out to Long Island.  It is just another reason to love this beautiful country!

Long Island Wine Trail 5

But back to biz!  Next up, I will be at The Painted Home’s Holiday Pop-Up Shop with 2 of my favorite comical and creative bloggers.  I’ll be alongside Kelly of Eclectically Vintage and Denise of The Painted Home this Friday from 2-8…or until we run out of wine.

Painted Home pop up

Unfortunately, I can’t make it Saturday so be sure to come for Friday happy hour if you want to see a free milk paint demo!  Good thing I just came back from wine country.  There will be plenty to share plus some tasty treats to pair!  Yup, I’m a poet.

   Long Island Wine Trail 8

let them eat cake

| circadee

Can I tell you a story?

It involves drinking wine and eating cake.

I thought that would get your attention.

When planning my wedding, I was dead set on having a wine barrel as the cake table.  Well, actually first I was set on a vintage tea cart.  I found a really cute one last fall but after our cake tasting, I realized how large and in charge our 4-tier birch log inspired pound cake would be.  Out with the cutesy tea cart and in with the wine barrel idea.  Serious stature.

© Love Shack Photo

So the wedding was rapidly approaching when I went on my Bucks county wine tour bachelorette party in April. Which was a blast by the way.  Then again, drinking wine in the middle of the day always is.  A group of friends and I boarded a Tastings & Tours bus which picked us up right at my house and took us around beautiful Bucks county.  (They also do wine tours in Cape May!)

Are you thinking what I was thinking?  Duh.  We were on a winery tour and I needed a wine barrel.

Enter my new favorite Bucks county winery, Buckingham Valley Vineyards, known for their sweet wines and laid back attitudes.  Oh yeah and their FREE tastings and incredible prices.  No this isn’t a sponsored post.  Well, I guess in a way it is…

I did what any cake table-less bride would do.  I asked the proprietor if he sells or rents wine barrels.  I explained my predicament to him and my desire to have a rustic wine barrel at my reception.  Do you know what happened next?

Yup, there was a wine barrel in the back of the tour bus.  Before I even finished my third tasting.

Dana & Ryan Cape May Wedding Love Shack Photo

And even more amazing is that it was a total loaner barrel.  The vineyard didn’t charge me anything for it.  In fact he didn’t even take my name.  He simply asked for my word that I would indeed return it.

That is what this country is built on.  Honesty and trust, my friends.

And wine and cake too.  Dream come true.

Don’t worry we returned that barrel promptly after our honeymoon sans the wine tour bus.  We didn’t leave empty handed in exchange for Buckingham Valley Vineyard’s gratitude.

If you are planning a wedding and considering this move, let me just tell you the reality of transporting and storing a wine barrel.  It is a BEAST.  I know that and I am pretty sure I never even lifted it.  And it took up like 20% of the garage while we were storing it.

Plus about 3 days before the wedding, I panicked that the top of the barrel wouldn’t be big enough to accommodate the cake.  I quickly ordered a custom piece of glass to be cut which roughly cost about 5 times the price of renting a standard cake table.  But hey, who’s keeping track?

© Love Shack Photo

Moral of the story:  You’ll never know unless you ask.

All of the incredible cake images by Love Shack Photo