Corks and Caps: Using Ordinary Drink Supplies for Extraordinary Card Crafts

When it comes to crafts, it's fun to have a "green" philosophy. Finding useful ways to re-purpose ordinary objects allows for plenty of creative freedom, and often for some one-of-a kind designs. In card crafting, the sky is the limit when it comes to re-purposing items to create colorful, unique backgrounds, borders, or whimsical greetings.

Try out some of the following ideas using wine corks and plastic bottle caps or use these ideas to spark new ideas of your own. These "treatments" also work equally well for scrapbook pages, gift bags, and other forms of paper crafts.

Wine Corks

A little paint, a wine cork, and a good dose of imagination can go a long way towards creating an interesting backdrop for a variety of cards.

In the example (pictured) the corks were dipped in paint (any paint will work, experiment for different effects and textures.) The cork is then pressed onto the paper to form a circle, using various amounts of pressure to achieve either a dark tone circle or a lighter one. With a little creativity, the cork circles are easily fashioned into grass, flowers, a sun (or any number of spring items you can think of.)

Tip: you can easily use both ends of the cork, one color per end.

The result is a nice spring flower backdrop for your card front, that can stand on its own merit or later be embellished with ribbon, stickers, stamps, brads, or other card stock items.

Bottle Caps

Plastic bottle caps are also great for making perfect circles, but with the little ingenuity, they can create interesting texture, too. Using a little paint (any type, again, experiment!) and a cap you can create an interesting art backdrop for card embellishments or a nice card front that looks great for dashing off a personal note.

In the example (pictured) the bottle cap was dipped in paint (hollow side down) and then pressed onto the paper to form a circle. A second coat of paint was applied to the bottle cap, but instead of applying steady pressure to the cap to form a circle, slide the cap across the paper to form a "swoop" effect. Alternating colors gives a bright spring visual.

Tip: You can also turn the cap sideways, dip in paint, and roll it along the paper to create an entirely new effect.

Wine Cork and Bottle Cap Combo

The wine corks and bottle caps make interesting designs on their own, but can also be used together for some interesting effects.

In the example (pictured) the wine cork and bottle cap were dipped in various spring colors, then applied to the card front using a variant pressure. This created a modern motif easily used as a texture-filled front card picture or as a backdrop for other card embellishments.