How to Make a Fabulous Homemade Cornhole Trophy

What’s a backyard cookout or a family get-together without a Cornhole tournament, complete with a bracket and winner-take-all attitude? What’s a Cornhole tournament without a prize?

Of course, there’s no better prize than a gleaming golden trophy to signify to the world that you are a master of the corn holes. Sure, you can take the easy route and buy a trophy, and you can even have one custom-designed and inscribed for posterity.

Or you could go the extra mile and DIY something truly special that your friends and family will admire for years to come. Just imagine it. You strut into the next family reunion with your cornhole masterpiece ready to be awarded to that year’s cornhole master.

Next year, the cornhole master brings the trophy back to the tournament and has to defend their title, as well as the right to hold onto the trophy for one more year!

Figurine Trophy

Difficulty: Easy. This one requires minimal time and effort, but it still looks great!

What You Need

A champagne flute, a similar style glass, or a stemmed candle holder. A figurine of your choice that is small enough to sit on top of the base (check your local dollar store for fun options like toy cars or glass animals) Hot glue gun. Metallic spray paint.

How to Make It

Step One: If you’re using a glass, turn it upside down. If you’re using a candle holder, leave it right side up. This is the base of your trophy.

Step Two: Hot glue your chosen figure to the top of the trophy base. Make sure to use enough glue so that the figure is fully secured to the flat surface.

Step Three: Spray paint it! Gold is obviously the most popular color choice, but you could also go with a shiny silver or a subtle, refined gunmetal shade. For safety, work outside or in a well-ventilated room and put some newspaper down for easy cleanup.

Step Four: Play a game of Cornhole while waiting for the paint to dry.

Step Five: Now you have a trophy!

Plastic Bottle Trophy

Difficulty: Medium. This one takes more effort but makes a more stable trophy.

What You Need

An empty plastic bottle (2 or 3 liters is ideal). Scissors or a blade. Hot glue gun. Metallic spray paint.

How to Make It

Step One: Rinse out the bottle and remove the label.

Step Two: Cut the top part off of the bottle (where the dome turns into a straight edge). This will be the top of your trophy.

Step Three: Cut the bottom part off of the bottle, about 2 to 3 inches up (most bottles have a molded line here that makes it easier to cut). This will be the base of your trophy.

Step Four: Cut the middle part of the bottle open, making it into a rectangle. Roll this part up and overlap the edges to make a thinner tube. Use hot glue to make it stay. This will be the stem of your trophy.

Step Five: Build it! Turn the bottom upside down to make a dome. Put hot glue on one end of the tube and press it to the dome to stick. Put more hot glue on the upper end of the tube and press the cap-ended part of the top into the tube (the cap should be hidden inside the tube).

Step Six: Decorate it! Spray paint with metallic spray paint. For safety, work outside or in a well-ventilated room and put some newspaper down for easy cleanup.

Step Seven: Treat yourself to another game of Cornhole while your second trophy dries!

Step Eight: If you want this trophy to look extra fancy, you can use stencils and a second color of spray paint to add lettering or accents. You can also add rhinestones, sequins, studs, spikes, or anything else you have that’s not too heavy.

Step Nine: Trophy is done!

The ULTIMATE Cornhole Trophy

Difficulty: ULTIMATE. Just kidding. The most difficult part is finding the supplies.

What You Need

A glass goblet, wine glass, or a vase with a wide opening. Fake corncobs (raid your fall decorations, check a dollar store, or buy online). Hot glue. Metallic spray paint. A metal or wood #1 (try the scrapbooking section of a craft store).

How to Make It

Step One: Decide how you’re putting this together. A single corncob angled elegantly in the glass receptacle is a timeless and classy option. If you chose a larger vase, you could try balancing two or three corncobs inside.

Step Two: Spray paint your corncobs! If you want a refined, monochromatic look, spray paint your glass too. If the glass has details like bubbles or is frosted, consider spray painting the base and stem but leaving some of the goblet untouched for a more modern look.

Use multiple colors of spray paint or stencils if you want something memorable and avant-garde. For safety, work outside or in a well-ventilated room and put some newspaper down for easy cleanup.

Step Three: One more game of Cornhole while you wait for the paint to dry!

Step Four: Put hot glue on the end of your corncob, insert it into the glass, and press down to stick. Plan carefully if you’re making a trophy with multiple corncobs since hot glue dries almost instantly.

Step Five: Hot glue the #1 onto the front of your trophy.

Step Six: This style of trophy is pretty easy to make, so think about making several! You can give them out for the winning team and have extras for recognizing accomplishments like Most Improved High Score, Best Throw, and You Tried!

Step Seven: Start planning your next family reunion, backyard cookout, or block party for later in the summer when it’s safe to get together again, and we can all come out of our caves and play cornhole!

Looking for another fun way to get creative? Need a game to play, so you can win that trophy you just made and make it official? Order your very own custom cornhole board (matching custom bags are also available) from Cornhole Stop!