| Homemade Tile Trivets |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-111 |
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Q: Can you help me make some kitchen accessories?
A: (Debbie Stapley, Ask DIY Decorating expert) I've got four ways for you to make homemade trivets and coasters: - Back an inexpensive glazed tile with felt. This is the simplest idea. Shop for discontinued tiles at tile or salvage stores. You'll be able to pick up just one tile for a fraction of the usual price. Attach some felt to the bottom of the tile so it won't scratch your kitchen surfaces. Just cut a piece of felt bigger than the tile and then spray the back of the tile and one side of the felt with high-tack adhesive spray. Let the spray set for around 20 seconds, until it gets really tacky. Then press the felt and the tile back together. Trim the excess felt from the edges of the tile with a craft knife, and the trivet is ready to use.
Working smarter: Use glazed tile so you don't need to seal the surface before using your trivet. - Use smaller tiles to create coasters. Cut images from wrapping paper, greeting cards or even leftover kitchen-wallpaper borders. Then decoupage them onto the top of the tile, using a clear-drying decoupage medium or watered-down white glue. Apply two or three coats of the decoupage medium, letting each dry before you apply another. Then apply two or three coats of polyurethane to seal the top.
Working smarter: Apply rubber or felt bumpers (figure A) to the bottoms of trivets or coasters to keep them from scratching surfaces. You can buy packages of precut bumpers at a craft store. - Purchase a tile in a neutral color that has a relief pattern. Then give it a metallic look with the help of a really great product: powdered metallic pigment (figure B). It's really expensive, so you don't want to mix up a whole lot ahead of time. Instead, paint the tile with watered-down glue or a decoupage medium, brushing a layer across the tile top and making sure you get the glue down into the cracks. Then scoop a bunch of dry pigment on top of the glue. Use a paintbrush to work it over the entire surface. Then wipe the pigment off with a clean, dry rag. The color will stain the top of the tile and the dark pigment will rest in the relief areas.
If you like, while the glue is still wet, add a second color of metallic pigment with a fresh brush. If the tile has dried, you can add a second color by dipping a brush first in glue and then in the pigment -- and then using the brush to highlight the tile. Spray a couple of coats of polyurethane over the dry tile before you use it. - Make a natural-look trivet by decoupaging handmade paper onto a natural tile, such as one made of slate. Rice paper is ideal, but any handmade paper will work. First, attach the paper to the tile with a layer of glue. Then go over the top with several coats of decoupage medium or watered-down glue, making sure the corners don't pop up -- and waiting for one coat to dry before you apply the next. Be liberal with the glue because the paper is thick and you want to make sure the glue saturates it. After the glue dries, apply two or three coats of polyurethane.
Working smarter: Tearing handmade paper can be tricky. Before you tear, mark a line with water, using a wet paintbrush. The paper should rip easily, but the edge will still have a "hand torn" look. One more question for Debbie:
Q: I know a trivet is used to hold hot plates and dishes, but can I serve hors d'oeuvres directly on it?
A: No. Polyurethane is not meant to be eaten from. Put food in a food-safe dish, and then put that on the trivet.
Web site resources for Trivets: Patriotic Painted Trivets from HGTV.com Tulip Trivets from Rag Shop.com Trivet from Amateur Woodworker.com Make a Tiled Kitchen Trivet from Growing Lifestyle.com Log Cabin Trivet from NMIA.com Easy to Make Decorative Trivets from Grampas Workshop.Virtualave.net
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