DIY Gift: Kid Art Trivet


Here’s a gift I think even the coolest childless Uncle would appreciate: a trivet featuring your kid’s artwork!  It’s kid-cuteness in a modern and useful package.  And just as an aside, Scarlet is obviously so talented, right?  You thought I bought these at the MOMA didn’t you?

But no, I made them from some of her paintings to send off to her three grandmas and two grandpas for Valentine’s day.  And she’s so proud of them, the look on her face was priceless when she saw the finished product!
Get the full Kid Art Trivet How-to After the jump…
DIY Valentine’s Day Gift: Trivet from Your Child’s Painting


Supplies
-Cheap tiles in any color, or recycle some you already own.  I used 6X6 which is a decent size for a trivet.
-Cork. You can buy it in a roll at any craft store
Mod Podge (Just get some already!  You can make mod podge Coasters, a vintage plate  cameo, a step stool, a tray and a million other things!)
-Sponge Brush for your Mod Podge
-Some sort of glue, I used Rubber Cement


1.  Make some paintings with your kid, or grab some they brought home from school.  If you want to get super-crafty, only give him or her paint colors that match your recipient’s kitchen decor.  Do this for your own kitchen and you could totally actually use these tiles on your wall as decoration!  Trace your tiles onto your painting and cut them out:

You should trim them just a little smaller, so there will be a little border around the art on the final product:

And also, if you want, add your child’s name and the date (I used Valentine’s Day 02.14.2010) so you will always remember when you made this:



2.  Apply a pretty thick coat of Mod Podge (I used glossy) to your tile.  Center the painting by attaching it and sliding it into place, then smooth out as many bumps as you can.  Children’s paintings are usually pretty lumpy so don’t worry about bubbles, I think it adds character.  Just make sure the edges are smoothed down.  Don’t lift it or it will rip.  

Repeat for all of your tiles, then let it dry all the way (20 or 30 minutes).


3. Add a second coat of Mod Podge, pretty thick just because the paintings are bumpy.  Let it dry and repeat until you are satisfied.


4.  Once it’s all dry, seal it.  I used polyurethane spray.  Let that dry completely.


5.  Cut out squares of cork for the bottom of the tile (much better then felt for use as a trivet, but if it’s going to hang on the wall instead felt would work).  Glue them on (I used Rubber Cement):

See doesn’t that look nice?

Admire your handiwork.

Put them to good use.

by

37 Comments

Julie

Gosh you have the BEST ideas on here! Seriously. Now I know what all of the grandparents are getting for Christmas next year.

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marie

Awesome gift idea!

I remembered that we made note cards out of old artwork two Christmases ago, and I forgot how much I loved them. I linked back to your inspiration post and put pictures of my spin off of this project on my blog at http://stitchinglibertysbelle.blogspot.com.

Thanks again for all of the great project ideas!

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Julie

Found the CUTEST Valentine's paper yesterday, have a trivet in progress now. Love this idea! Will be sharing it on my blog when I'm done!

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Anonymous

HI,
This is another great idea I want to try with my kids. I just subscribed your blog. I can't wait to look around and read all your posts. Thanks. Kim

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Parents' Ideas

It's such a brilliant idea! Not sure if the "ingredients" to do such a thing are sold in Russia, but I will surely try to find something like this to make such gorgeous things decorated with our daughter's paintings! Thank you so much for sharing!

Anastasia

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Anonymous

I hate to bear bad news, but we made these and they are not heat resistant. My hot dish got stuck to the trivet, the mod podge and the top coat are now embossed with the word "anchor" and it took a knife to loosen it.

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Jaime

hello Anon – what kind of sealer did you use? i used polyeurethane and mine are all completely heat resistant. mod podge takes over a month to cute on it's own and i would never recommend it without using a sealer.

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Little Lexi

I have never used Mod Podge before. So do you put mod podge down on the tile to adhere the artwork to the tile? AND then also on top of the artwork once it has been mod podge the top of the artwork?

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Jaime

little lexi, yes, that's how it works! AND you need to add a sealer – polyurethane spray or acrylic sealant… because mod podge is not heat proof

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alyson

Did you think about using the Outdoor or Hard Coat MP before the sealer? I know that when I've used regular MP on frames and such before and it's gotten gooey when I've had the frames and such in storage for a while. And they had definitely been cured longer than a month at the time. I love love LOVE the idea, don't get me wrong. I am just worried about the heat issue (though I didn't poly coat the frames). I will definitely have to give it a go and test the heat results.

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Little Lexi

where did you get your sealer? Is it called Polyurethene sealant? I bought some Polyurethene but it doesn't say Sealant. When I read the back it talks about furniture.

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Alecia

Can you please name the brand of sealant that you used? Thank you! Want to try this!!

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kzieler

I love this idea and tried it with one of my daughter's paintings last night. She's only 2 so, we use the washable paint – I'm not sure if that's the reason but, the colors ended up blurring together – it still looks super cute but, more like a water color now. Thanks for the idea!!

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Janet

This is such a great idea! I think the hardest part would be cutting up my daughter’s artwork. 🙁

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Alia Snyder

I just made some of these (gorgeous) and put on 2 coats of acrylic sealer, let it dry and then heated up a small saucepan. The saucepan stuck and I had to pry it off. Luckily it didn’t wreck anything. Wondering if I need to wait longer before putting anything with heat on it. Suggestions?? Thank you!

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Bobbi

Yes please tell us EXACTLY what type and brand sealant you used, I really want to make some photo trivets for my family for Christmas((Already made the coasters)) but I am worried about them being heat resistant.. Everywhere I have read, I hear the same results like above.. :-/ Please help 🙁

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Rose :: Fine Craft Guild

Very arty and very pretty! and ditto re. Bobbi’s concern about them being heat resistant. So, I would hang a tag instead and hang them up in the kitchen as decorative tiles. And do another cork trivet project to put my pans on. Problems solved.

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Jaime

no, not if you seal it. if you seal it properly it will be fine. if you forget to use a sealer and put a hot pan right on a mod podge surface, it will melt.

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Eva

Did you use one or more coats of polyeurathane? I made a bunch of these for gifts but the ‘sealed’ ones don’t look as shiny as the ‘unsealed’. I used a spray on polyeurathane.
Is more than one coat recommended? Especially for the heat resistance?
Thanks for the amazing idea!

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Marilyn

I’ve made some coasters and trivets, but haven’t tried them out yet. So, from what I’m reading as long as the sealant has been put on, they should withstand heat? That was the one thing I wasn’t sure of, so just wanted to make sure. I’m also curious as to how many coats would suffice to be heat resistant? Thanks and this is an awesome idea!
Marilyn

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