Cork Crafts get loony with the Instant Pot!

I've been working on building my wine collection, but only seem to have success collecting corks. In an effort to find ways to use them creatively, I stumbled upon a crafty technique that may be helpful for my fellow Instant Pot owners! (And you thought your Instant Pot was only useful for cooking.)

Here are the steps for my Instant Pot Cork Craft - 

1. Add about 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the Instant Pot bowl, insert a steamer basket, and add a handful of corks.

 2. Close and lock the lid, push the steam button, and set the timer for five minutes. (I'd like to experiment with a few additional minutes.)

3. Make sure the vent is set to sealing!

4. When the cycle is complete, release the steam. Check out how plump and soft the corks look compared to when I first put them into the pot!

5. Slice the corks with a sharp knife and cutting board to create disk shapes that can be stamped or decorated.

6. Channel your inner "sushi chef" and carefully use a knife to slice away the outer layer of the cork, just like a cucumber. Below is my first attempt.

7. Try again, this time with a fabulous cork from Smoking Loon.

8. I can only imagine I'll achieve better results with more practice. (I have plenty of practice materials available.)

9. Place the cork under something heavy to flatten overnight. Then, use Club Scrap's awesome Bookbinding Glue to adhere the cork to a cardstock panel. Once again, place under a heavy object to dry, and the cork will remain flat.

10. My "heavy object" is an old dictionary I use for paper crafting. Tear out the "loon" page and incorporate into the front panel of the card.

11. Stamp the loon image from Club Scrap's Adirondacks stamp sheet onto the card with India Black Ink.

12. Adhere the art panel onto a folded card base and hand this beauty to a wine-lover who will enjoy it!

Thanks for checking out my "loony" cork craft! I can't wait to make more!
Tricia