A corking idea

Protect your table with these luxe metallic cork mats. You will need

• Pencil

• Paper

• Scissors

• Spray adhesive

• A3 sheet of 6mm cork sheet

(try Fred Aldous)

• Scalpel and cutting mat

• 10p piece

• Liquid Leaf gold paint in Classic

• Artist’s paintbrush

• Ruler

• 1.5cm and 0.5mm washi or masking tape

To make

❶ Draw simple leaf shapes on to paper measuring approximately 18-20cm at the widest points. Cut out shapes from paper and, using the spray adhesive, stick them to the back of the cork sheet. Place the cork on to a cutting mat and, using a scalpel, carefully cut around the paper shape and through the cork. Remove excess cork to reveal the leaf shape.

❷ Now decorate the mats. For the dot design, take a 10p coin and draw around it with a pencil, repeating to decorate the mat at roughly equal intervals. Following manufacturer’s instructions, stir and shake the gold leaf paint and, using a fine paintbrush, paint the circles, applying a couple of coats.

❸ For the diamonds, apply parallel lines of tape at an angle to the mat. Use a ruler and 1.5cm-wide tape, leaving a gap of 75mm between the tape lengths. Paint between the unmasked lines with a couple of coats of paint. Wait for the paint to dry, then apply another set of tape lines at an angle to the original lines with the same gap measurement. Again, paint in the unmasked lines. When the paint is dry remove the tape.

❹ For the stripes, again apply tape lines parallel to each other with an equal gap, this time using the narrower 5mm-wide tape. Paint in the unmasked areas. When dry, remove tape.

Frayed-edge linen table cloth, £66; Aran cuffed glasses, £16 each; woodland table scatters, £18, all Rowen & Wren.