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So Mr. Soandso has been cooking up a storm, lately. He’s a big fan of skillet meals so he often brings the cast iron skillet over to the table and we can get more as needed and it stays hot. It’s pretty smart, really. When I cook I dirty up a bazillion pots and pans and he can get away with 1 most times but sometimes a whole, whopping 2.
Now I had always had the food left on the stove to stay warm when I cooked and that’s the way it’s always been in my family. You go back to the stove to get extras. But we’re eating at a table every single day so now we bring the food with us. We purchased 1 trivet at the grocery store because before now neither one of us has had any or really needed them.
The one we got is pretty awesome. It’s cast iron, it’s bright red and it has a chicken on it. Boom. It’s awesome. But it was also a good chunk of change. When Rob cooks his single skillet it hangs out on the chicken. But when I cook we still go back to the stove. Rather than spend a good $40 -60 on trivets I decided to use something I always have on hand anyway and repurpose them. And, you may have already guessed, that thing is wooden clothespins.
I use clothespins for everything. Putting my blinds up, closing up food in the pantry, closing up craft items in my office, pulling curtains back… they really get a lot of use. But my Miss Lucy loves eating them so if there is one within her reach, it’s a goner. Since a bag of 100 is less than a buck I pick a new bag up often. If you’re crafty you surely already have paint/stain and glue on hand so it should be a super inexpensive project!
P.S. Do NOT buy clothespins at craft stores. They are SUCH a ripoff! Grab a buck bag from Walmart instead!
Not into words, words, words? Check out this video tutorial, instead! Oh, and I decided to dye my pins in this updated version so I don’t have to worry about paint and hot pans!
For this project you will need:
- Clothespins (roughly 24 per trivet)
- Paint/stain
- Super strong glue (I use e6000)
***UPDATE – I never put my pans straight from the fire onto trivets so they have a bit of cooling time and I’m not worried about the heat. A pot right off of the burner would surely be bad news for the bottom of your pans. You can use a good quality sealer to help keep the paint off of your pans or you can use a high heat spray paint, but it seems those only come in white, black or red. Wood can always be stained and then sealed, also.
First up take apart roughly one bazillion clothespins. Okay, about 24 per trivet in truth :)
Now, I painted mine but I kind of wish I had stained them. Painting can be done after but staining of the pins should be done before moving on.
Play around with how you can put your pins together and still form a circle.
Carefully glue each pin together…
…in the shape that you worked out.
Once the glue has dried for any sets you might have made you can begin gluing those together to form the trivets.
Some, like this pattern you’ll just glue the pins right to one another.
Hit ’em with some paint and you’re good to go! Now, it’s a good thing to note that the more care you take with your trivets the better they will look in general. I was using my glue in an enclosed space (bad craft blogger!) and things started to get a bit wonky. But as usual I didn’t notice until after I was done that the fumes had been effecting me and my work got sloppier and sloppier. Be sure to use glue such as this, and anything that suggests proper ventilation according to package directions or brain cells be darned :)
In the end these guys are pretty fab and I’m excited about them and Rob likes that they look like colorful snowflakes. So I guess we’re all happy. Yay!
Hello! This is such a fun craft! My grandmother is making these as Christmas gifts. How did you dye your clothespins?
Dyeing your pins is super easy. All you have to do is soak them in a water and fabric dye concentration giving it an occasional stir or shake to make sure all of the wood gets some dye. They’ll look darker when they are wet so I’d recommend reserving your dye until the wood has dried just in case you want to give it another soak for a darker/stronger color. I’ve used large mason jars for this because you just get that lid back on there and you don’t have to worry about spills or evaporation. When dyeing make sure there is room for the pins to move around. If they’re really packed in it’s really hard to get a nice, uniform color even with all of the stirring in the world. I hope your grandmother has fun with this project!
Thank you for all your recommendations. I’m going to do this with my niece and give them as X-Mas presents
Wonderful! I hope she enjoys them :)
I just found ur website n the first thing I saw is these trivets, OMG how cute are they. What a great idea for Mothers day, I don’t know anyone that has TOO many trivets. Thanks.
Allison, I just love how you turn the most boring objects into something so colorful and wonderful. You have a real talent!
Take care
Jamie
Just a suggestion to use engine clearcoat to seal after painting. I use this for coasters I make. It can handle much higher heat levels since its made to handle the heat of a car engine. It can be found at most car part stores.
That is a great suggestion! I’m going to have to give that engine coat a try!
I think they would work nice to put plants on..
What do u use to stain them and can you paint after u stain them them
You would use wood stain. They sell both different wood shades, like mahogany for instance, and also in colors. I believe Lowe’s can mix color stain for you and you can definitely purchase bright color stains at Michaels.
Have you thought to put a round piece of heat resistant rubber on top of the trivet? Or some kind of heat resistant material. You would not have to worry about the paint coming off onto your pans.
I haven’t but that’s a fab idea!
They are so cute and useful, cant wait to make them.
Can i sell them?
Absolutely!
Will hot glue work?
Since hot glue melts because of heat if you put a hot item on the trivet it might come undone. If you use it only for decorative purposes or cold items, like you would a coaster, hot glue would be okay.
Wow, such a unique idea. How did you get inspired to make these?
Thanks! Not hardly unique, though! We did something similar when I was little in girl scouts and I’ve since gotten comments from so many people about how they’ve made them back in the day, too. Thanks for stopping by Mark. I’m quite the fan!
What kind of paint did you use? Did you use a sealer on them? I’m concerned with the heat from really hot pans and skillets coming in contact with the paint and scorching it as well as releasing fumes. Dinner downer.
I never put my pans straight from the fire onto trivets so they have a bit of cooling time and I’m not worried about the heat. A pot right off of the burner would surely be bad news for the bottom of your pans. You can use a good quality sealer to help keep the paint off of your pans or you can use a high heat spray paint, but it seems those only come in white, black or red. Wood can always be stained and then sealed, also.
I saw a post colouring them with food color soaking them overnight then letting them dry, I saw these at a craft market and that’s what she did. She had beaded them too. Real pretty. That’s why I. Looking them up on Pinterest. Soooo need to make one,
That’s brilliant! I recently saw some with beads, also, and really liked what they added. I might make some more like that and try your dyed method!
Yay for Rob! He’s a genius! I wouldn’t have guessed that it was possible to be able to cook and only use 1 or 2 skillets the way he has. I’m like you Allison; I use many pots, pans, skillets and other utensils when I cook, which only makes more work for myself when I have to do the dishes (which I HATE doing!) after a meal. It’s like a freakin’ tornado hit our kitchen by the time I finish in there! And I’m still pretty much an amateur because I’m just now learning to cook.
But same here. If a person wants more food, they go back to the kitchen and grab what they want from the stove that’s keeping the food warm (so we don’t have to use the microwave a “bazillion” times to re-heat).
And what an awesome craft! I love the colors! And here’s another great way to keep color in your life. :) Pretty and practical! How can you beat that?
But yes, please be careful when using things like glue in enclosed spaces Allison. I know that for me, I’m sensitive to certain scents and odors. When I clean, I always try to keep a window open (even in the winter) because if I don’t, I’ll most likely be sprawled out on the floor from the toxic fumes. Those cleaners can really get a surface shining, but the toxicity is murderous… :/
Ha! I cook just like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Tons of pans and tons of spoons and food sloshed all over the range top :) Good for you learning to cook!
I will definitely be careful in the future. And cleaning fumes are the worst. When I have to clean my bathrooms, with no windows, mind, I’m coughing a fit from the cleaner in the enclosed space!
Thanks! I’m doing my best! And it’s so satisfying in the end when you get to eat what you’ve prepared!
And tell me about it. I’m particularly sensitive to cleaners like Pine Sol and Scrubbing Bubbles. If I take in too much of the Scrubbing Bubbles, I’ll be sneezing for the rest of the day or longer!
Thankfully, our apartment is just small enough that if I have all of the windows open while I’m cleaning, it’s not so bad.
I remember teaching children how to make these 20 + years ago as a craft project for 4-H members. I just taught the basics and turned them loose with their imaginations. They had great iteas and had some beautiful crafts to take home. I did explain how they can dye the wood in jars of clothing dye and water in sealable jars or just use tea. It maintains the wood pattern and leaves a natural colour. It does however extend the time involved for the craft as the wood has to be coloured and allowed to dry before glueing. I still have my tea-dyed trivet on the kitchen table.
Trish (from northern Canada)