Make a giraffe ornament using recycled cork...

My finished cork giraffe is very light weight.

        Save your left over wine corks for this light weight tree ornament representing a long-necked giraffe.

Supply List:

• two long wine corks and three shorter wine corks
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• brown and yellow yarn
• acrylic paints: yellow, browns, black and white
• two thumb tacks with bead tips
• two scales from a pine cone
• white school glue
  

Step-by-Step Instructions: 

1. Hot glue the recycled wine corks in the order shown in the photograph, just right. After the glue cures for a few hours the cork is ready for painting. Parents may choose to do this part of the craft ahead of time so that kids aren't handling the glue gun.
2. Paint the entire giraffe body a golden yellow.
3. Paint the hooves of the giraffe black.
   
4. Paint on the spots of the giraffe.
5. Tie the giraffes mane by cutting one long piece of yarn that measures the length that you need. Now tie shorter strands of yarn in alternating colors, yellow and brown down the length of the longer strand. Trim the mane to a short length and hot glue it to the neck of the giraffe.
6. Hot glue two scales to each side of the cork head to make the giraffe ears. see photo.
   
7. Squeeze out a bit of white school glue onto the tips of the beaded thumb tacks. Gently push these into the top of the head between the ears of the giraffe, these are the short hairy horns of the animal.
8. Paint the horns brown.
9. Paint the smile and eyes of the giraffe next.
10. Hot glue a few strands of yarn onto the back end of the giraffe's body to act as his tail.
    

How wine corks are made...