Thrifty Thursday Brought to You By Bottled Wine

How can wine possibly be thrifty you ask? At $10 for a cheap bottle, it's not exactly what I'd call a frugal expenditure. But, if you're drinking it anyway (for the health benefits, of course) you may as well do something fun with the corks.

There are a ton of ideas out there for wreaths, and hearts made out of lots of corks, but I wanted to try stamps.

I cut a heart, chevron, mustache and x/o stamp into four different corks.

Here's how I did it. 

First, stamp the end you'll be using to make sure all the surface touches well enough. If it doesn't, you can cut the end or sand it down a little. Then draw your icon onto the stamp.

Use the tip of a craft knife to go all the way around the line you've drawn. Press the knife down deeply all the way around the shape. 

After you have made your cuts around your shape, come in from the side with the knife flat. Cut in to remove the excess cork.

Clean up any edges and start stamping.

You can try different inks and even paint. Just have fun with it.

And, if you go letter boxing in Zilker Park... or anywhere else, what could be cooler than a wine cork stamp?