wine stoppers - made from cabinet knobs

I was recently in Napa for my good friend's bachelorette party and we had a weekend full of eating, drinking and shopping. It was a great get away and being in Napa during harvest time was amazing.  I have to admit that after a few glasses of wine, I am not a very practical shopper. I start LOVING everything and if it weren't for the baggage restrictions on my flight home (I was already checking a box of wine!), I would have purchased new dishes and serve ware. 

Despite the wine fog that was clouding my practical judgement, I did find something unique....an antique door knob wine stopper.  We do have a few plain, cork wine stoppers at home, that we use for open wine bottles, olive oil, booze bottles etc, but this door knob stopper made the cork look vintage and one of a kind.  I resisted  the urge to buy the stopper on the spot with the hopes that I would try to make my own at home. 

Once I recovered from my trip and spent some quality time with my girls, I got to work. I decided to look for cabinet knobs vs. door knobs, because the smaller scale knob seemed more practical for fitting in kitchen drawers, plus, I knew exactly where to find them. Anthropologie and World Market both have cabinet knobs in a variety of shapes and colors.  I also purchased a hack saw, super glue and 2 packages of cork bottle stoppers.

Directions

1. Remove all nuts and washers from cabinet knobs

2. Measure 3/4 down the screw from the base of the knob.  Mark 3/4 of an inch with a sharpie or pencil.  Using the hack saw, saw off the screw that extends past the line drawn.

3. With a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw itself, drill a one-inch hole into the center of the top of the cork stopper. 

4. Squeeze a few drops of super glue onto the hole that you drilled and start to screw the knob into the cork. 

5. Continue to screw the knob into the cork until the base of the knob lays flat against the cork. 

6. Allow the glue to dry for at least 12 hours before use. 

These bottle stoppers make great hostess gifts, but make sure to save some for yourself, because they come in handy around the house!