The Sommelier's Nightmare...

wine corks...
corkage, as it were...
with an abundance of corks, you might expect
swilling and swirling and sniffing.
naaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh, not here! ;}




{ source google }
the other day, my sister Kae was asking me if i had seen
those cool initials made from corks? well, yes i had, in fact
but you could have knocked me over with a feather, because
Kae likes a lot of things, none of which include anything that's
Etsy/Anthro/Pintresty style! so, since i have been wanting to
take a crack at one myself, i thought she would be my guinea
pig! ;}



so, i gathered up my cork collection...{no, i don't have the empty bottle
collection that goes with these corks! they are from several sources...ok,
at least two sources! ;} and arranged them in a pleasing fashion....
meaning in the shape of a "k"! well that was easy enough! but really...
how hard could it be? i didn't bother to look for directions anywhere
since it appeared to be pretty cut & dry. had i stumbled up the ultimate
lazy girl project??!!
gloriosky!




and now, obviously, we glue...
{Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue was just the ticket...
it's tacky...
and it dries quick...truth in advertising.
unlike the plethora of overnight facial rejuvenation products i have
gathering dust! ;}

and glue...





and glue some more...





did i mention that you will need to keep gluing?




did i say you could stop gluing??!!




no! i didn't!
mush!!!!




there's a lot of gluing involved...
but it wasn't until i actually ran out of the tacky glue
that i wanted to set the whole thing on fire! ;}
but i didn't!
i just glued...

this is where the fun really started...you have been waiting for the
fun, haven't you?


so, by this time i was using Aleene's Tacky Gel...
i really need to look back at old posts to see if i mentioned
that i loathed and despised it before...grrrrrrrrrrr!
gel it is...
tacky it ain't!
note the puddling and seepage!
puddling and seepage are not words that one generally associates
with a craft that is progressing swimmingly!
the only thing swimming were my corks!
ankle deep in glue and now attached to the tablet I had them on!
{yah, yah, corks don't have ankles and using paper as your work
surface for a really gluey project is not bright...but it was
within reaching distance...i almost used a tee shirt! ;}




no, the knife was not for harakiri! i had to use it to gingerly PRY
the corks...my fabulously "k" shaped corks...from the tablet while
quickly easing the plastic wrap beneath! yes, you do wish you had
a camera for that performance!





phew! done!
but with a few casualties...Utah Beach was less grizzly!


{snooty sidebar}


be sure to place your 2 buck chuck corks at the inner parts of your
letter...



and your pricier wine corks on the outer edges where they
can be seen, if for no other reason than to distract people
from all the glue blobs! ;}




so, here's the thing about plastic wrap...it tends to be plasticy...
and thus, nonporous and does not breath...at all!
not one little bit!
sheesh & duh!
needless to say, the entire underside was niiiiiiiiiice and moist before
i went to bed!
you may be thinking, at this point, the directions {and common
sense} might have been a good idea! i was thinking that too...
although still leaning toward the fire idea! but instead,
i flipped the whole thing over and went to bed!




the next day i filled every conceivable nook and cranny with about
30 sticks of hot glue! you could build a house with hot glue!
{i had nixed the idea of using hot glue for the entire project
because i thought it would be too messy...i hate all the spider
webs! great thinking! ;}





finally ready!





if i have to be honest...do i? ok!
with just the merest hint of forethought, one ounce of gumption
and a tad less laziness...it would have been A LOT easier!!!
and if you had an empty frame
and backing that your were gluing the corks onto,
it would literally take minutes!!



and if, as with the example way up at the top of the post...
{the example you have already forgotten about since you
began reading this post yesterday!} you used a wooden
letter as the base, yikes! easier still. silly me, i just don't
have an entire large wooden alphabet at my disposal! ;}




yes, the right side is sagging under it's own weight...much as one
feels after a long day of shopping! ;} but it will be right as rain
when affixed to some sort of base.


Now wasn't that just like a perky episode of The DIY Dish ?
and i think we all understand why they have a show...not me! ;}
but don't you think their ratings would go through the roof if...
just once...they lit something on fire! ;}


Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage
Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia