Birthday Hat Glass Topper/Wine Stopper

Today is my niece Macey's birthday - on her wish list was something like a ton of wine 'cuz it's expensive in Chicago hahahah. So (naturally) I bought her a case online and will have it shipped to her so she doesn't have to carry it back with her on the train! But a piece of paper that says she's getting wine isn't very fun to open so I wanted to get her a little somethin' somethin' to go with it. I saw this very cute idea in a store last week and loved it, I probably should have just bought it but I had a classic crafter moment and said to myself "it's $25? I can totally make that!"... but then I put off making it until yesterday and then there was a mad scramble with ribbon and hot glue ;)

I think this turned out super cute, it's a little silly and girly but whatever. Hopefully it makes her happy - but since it cost like $5 instead of $25 if she hates it I'm not out much! I made this with a wine cork in the bottom so it's "practical" in addition to furry and funny - if you don't want it to be a wine stopper you could totally just leave it off and have a flat bottom that just sits on top of a glass for decoration instead. That's why I named it "glass topper/wine stopper"!

I have a bunch of empty ribbon spools that I took from Ronda's (I hate throwing things away!), interestingly enough the center hole perfectly fits a wine cork - who knew? (Side note: Hi Candy! "whodaknew?" haha) I took one side of the spool off and put the cork most of the way thru the side of the spool that has the middle cardboard circle attached (where the ribbon was) and hot glued in place. That middle piece fits inside of the top of this stemless wine glass I got at the dollar store.

 Next up I found a light up tree at the dollar store that is made of a glittery soft mesh material, the bottom popped off easily and then I measured up a few inches and cut off the bottom so it wasn't so tall.

Using another spool with one side removed, glue the base of the tree over the middle cardboard circle for stability, then glue the two spools together.

 I decorated the cone by hot gluing pink ribbon around the bottom (that also helps to cover up the edges of the spool) and hot glue a big pompom to the top.

Now you might be wondering why I'm including this now since I said I'm doing a Halloween/Fall thing this month? While I was making Macey's birthday hat topper/stopper I thought what a cute witches hat topper/stopper this would make using patterned cardstock that I just rolled into a cone shape and taped shut....for this one though I didn't use the part of the spool that has the middle cardboard circle - just insert a cork thru the end of the spool that is just flat cardboard with a hole in it and then put a black circle over the other side (see pics). This won't stay in the glass as securely but if you're doing a themed table or want a cute decoration for a party or whatever, it can just sit on top (and still be used as a stopper later). 

two years ago: make this cute miniature kitten pumpkin