What to Make with Cork Sheets | Cork Sheet Craft Ideas

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We were lucky enough at our school to have a number of cork sheets donated. A number of coworkers asked me for ideas on what to do with them and so I thought I’d share my cork sheet craft ideas here with all of you.

About Cork Sheets

Cork sheets have a number of commercial uses – bulletin boards, flooring and wall panels.

While cork is porous, it does not leak. Think about a cork in a wine bottle – it allows some oxygen through thereby allowing the wine to age, yet the wine does not leak out of the bottle when held upside down.

Although cork is porous, it does not actually absorb liquid. That wine cork is not full of wine. Cork will also float in water. Therefore, don’t worry about getting it wet.

Where to Find Cork Sheets

Cork sheets are available in a variety of sizes and thicknesses. Larger sheets can be found at home improvement stores, such as Home Depot. However, I have also seen small, thin cork sheets available at craft stores and at dollar stores. Various sizes and thicknesses can also be found online at Amazon.

You can also find ready-cut cork sheets, and therefore ready to craft with cork items at craft stores, dollar stores and Ikea.

How to Cut Cork Sheets

The cork sheets that were given to us were 1/4 inch thick. The cork sheets at the dollar store are thinner. You can also get thicker cork sheets.

Cork sheets are easy to cut with a box cutter and a ruler. While sharp scissors can be used, a box cutter is best for a nice, clean edge. Depending on how heavy duty your box cutter is, you may need to make a few passes to get a cut all the way through. When cutting multiple times to get through the thickness, be careful to cut exactly in the same spot so that you get a clean edge – otherwise, you run the risk of getting a jagged edge. You could always trim it after the fact to clean it up.

Using a straight edge, you can easily cut cork sheets into squares, rectangles, hexagons, or what have you.

Cutting circles is a bit trickier. You’ll need a steady hand and a very sharp blade.

Cork Sheet Craft Ideas

• cut small squares to use as coasters
• cut really small shapes to turn into fridge magnets by attaching magnetic tape to the back

• cut large squares, circles or hexagons to use as trivets or hot mats; cork can withstand high temperatures. I would recommend at least 1/4 inch thick for it to be able to withstand heat.
• cut large rectangles to use as placemats
• attach some ribbon or twine to hang and make gift tags or Christmas ornaments. You can either glue ribbon to the back or drill a hole through it. I made a gift tag by drilling a 1/4 inch hole through the top.
• line a shadow box with the cork to create a mini bulletin board or a memory box that can be swapped out easily. I like to use the Ribba Frames from Ikea.

How to Decorate Cork Sheets

• Heat Transfer Vinyl – previously, I’ve used HTV to make coasters and trivets. Read How to Apply HTV on Cork here. In addition to coasters and trivets, you can use HTV to make magnets or label the cork sheet to make a bulletin board.

• Paint – Painting was a bit tricky as it does bleed and so it is hard to make it perfect. I tried using a stencil, as well as simply putting tape down to create stripes. Use very little paint for best results. I used both chalk paint as well as regular craft paint. Here are a couple of coasters that I painted.

Here are a couple of spray sealant suggestions that I have used. Be sure to use these outdoors as the odour can be quite strong. In order to contain the spray, I place my items in a box first and then spray.

• Don’t feel like painting? Sharpies work well too. This would be a great activity with children. These would make cute little fridge magnets. I would probably spray seal these as well.

• Glue on foam shapes. You can get foam shapes from craft stores, as well as the dollar store. This is another easy craft activity for children. Look at this cute gift tag I made. This would also be a great way to make Christmas Tree ornaments.

• Decorate with paper crafts. Check out my blog post here on how to make rolled paper flowers. Simply use craft glue to glue on to the cork. You can also make rolled flowers from felt. Check out this cute shadow box I made using the Ikea Ribba frame, available in both white and black.

As you can see, there are a number of cork sheet craft ideas. Many of these make great gifts for occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas.

Want to remember these cork sheet craft ideas? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.