Homemade, Hand-Painted Trivets: Perfect Gifts that Anyone Can Make

Don't know what to get your mom for her birthday? Or maybe you're thinking ahead for the holiday season? These hand-designed trivets (hot plates) make great presents, and the project is suitable for all ages. One of the best aspects of this trivet craft is that you don't need a lot of supplies!

You will need the following:

6" white ceramic tile (one per trivet)

Air dry enamel paints

Transfer paper

Paint brushes

4 small (no thicker than ½") wooden blocks - optional

The first thing you will need to do to create this hand designed trivet is to decide what you want it to look like. The design used should be appropriate for the age group participating in this project. For example, if you have a young child making a present for their parents, you may want to help them simply put their hand prints on the trivet. If you are working with older children, or doing this project yourself, you will probably want to sketch out your design first.

Some designs you may want to consider for your trivet if working with children include: as mentioned above, hand prints with the child's name and date, a floral design, hand drawn family portrait or anything you child wants to create. Some more advanced ideas include a family tree, detailed floral design, a family crest, etc. Your imagination is your only limit when creating this trivet project.

After you have your trivet design on paper, use the transfer paper to transfer it on to the ceramic surface. Simply place the transfer paper on your trivet and trace your design on top. By doing this the outline of your design will be on the trivet but once you finish designing it, you will not see these trace lines.

After covering your work surface with newspaper to prevent any messes, you are ready to paint your trivet. Using air dry enamel paints you will then want to paint in your design. If you wish to outline your design in black, you will want to leave a thin white space between each color. If this outlining idea doesn't fit in with your trivet design, you don't have to do it at all.

If you wish to use your trivet, you may want to attach wooden blocks on the bottom of the four corners to keep your trivet off of the table. I suggest using small blocks, no thicker than ½" thick just to lift it slightly. Most people however, decide not to use their trivet for functionality since it was preciously hand designed and painted. You can also find plate holders if you want to display your trivet for everyone to see.