I first met our next Guest Blogger, Kari from Handmade Mommy, when she won my Allmodern.com Giveaway.  She was so excited and decided right away to join in my Pattern Challenge.  Kari’s a super sweet mom who’s totally crafty-minded.  I follow her blog and always look forward to reading her posts and seeing what cute things she’s made.  Look at this adorable fishing reel bag she recently made for her husband!

Thanks, Kari, for this great tutorial!  Those trivets are so fun, I can’t wait to try it!

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Quick & Easy Kitchen Trivet Tutorial

from Handmade Mommy

Hi there! I’m Kari from Handmade Mommy and am thrilled to be hanging out here. I’m sure Sarah is having a blast galavanting about in Europe and will bring back some great photos for us. But, in the meantime, here’s a little tutorial to keep your hands busy…

Awhile back, I made some coasters (beer coasters, to be exact) as Christmas gifts. Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to do something else with ceramic tiles…I just couldn’t decide what. Then a blogging friend suggested kitchen trivets. Eureka! And kitschy retro kitchen trivets would be even better. So I hauled my slightly unwilling boys to the hardware store and picked up supplies. If you get the bug to make some, here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies:

-One 6″x6″ matte finish ceramic tile
-One super cute vintage image
-Spray adhesive
-Clear Gloss Spray enamel
-Adhesive bumpers for the the bottom of your tile

It helps if you have a slight addiction to old books and just happen to have vintage cookbooks lying around with great images buried in them. Such as the little gem I found in The American Woman’s Cook Book (copyright 1944, edited by Ruth Berolzheimer). Apparently, electric mixers were still a bit of a novelty back then; if you look closely, the text says “The machine beats time as well as batter while you supply the brain that makes the cake.” I don’t know about you, but I’ll take praise for my kitchen smarts wherever I can.

1.  First, print out your image on regular printer paper and cut it to size. Then, spray the back with adhesive (this is much easier and less messy than spraying the tile itself). Make sure to get a really good coat on the paper and let it get tacky for a few seconds (follow label directions).

2.  Align your paper on the tile and smooth out any air bubbles with a roller, spatula, or the highly specialized tool, the credit card.

3.  Next, spray the tile with your clear enamel. Several light coats a couple minutes apart works well. I did it just until the paper started to look glossy and then walked away. Then I waited an hour or so and did this again. Let your enamel dry.

4.  Stick your little bumpers on the bottom so your trivet doesn’t scratch the table. And you’re done!

Now admire your brand new trivet and use it with pride!

Thanks again for having me, Sarah!

Filed under: Guest Blogger, Tutorials |