DIY Personalized Cork Trivets

by CraftyPaws | Mar 5, 2016

These super simple and inexpensive DIY personalized trivets (coaster versions would be great too) made me so happy! This was the first time I made my own stencils and tried altering cork trivets–I had no idea if this would work (especially stenciling on heavily textured cork), but I’m so glad I tried something new. It was so much fun! I can’t wait for my hubby to come home (he’s on a business trip) so I can surprise him these personalized trivet gifts of our fur babies (different versions of this could be done for hostess gifts, baby showers, house warming, so much more–monogram, baby silhouette, house with move in date).

I found silhouette profile images of a Havanese (actually it was a Shitsu but they have similar silhouettes) and a Poodle online and digitally tweaked them to look more like my Biscuit and Bandito. Then I greyed out the image (I wanted to use less of my black printer ink) and printed them out on card stock. Carefully hand cutting out the images with my favorite fussy cutting Fiskars 5 Inch Titanium Micro-Tip Easy Action Scissors and X-Acto #2 Knife took a little time, but the whole time I was smiling since the images started to look more and more like my fur babies.

Then with the DecoArt Americana Premium Stencil Brush Set and a little white acrylic paint, I stenciled in the negative areas of the doggy stencils I had made. Since the IKEA trivets ($2.99) come in a three-pack, I decided to try using the positive poodle silhouette image as a mask and stenciled all around it (see top photo) for the last trivet.

I’m not sure how well these images will endure with heavy use, but I’m not too worried since they were so fast and easy to make and I LOVE them! Plus, my guess/hope is that the cork will have absorbed the thin layers of acrylic paint well enough so that even with some wear and tear the images will simply look a little more distressed.

The following is a process video with some helpful tips and tricks for making these personalized trivets:

These doggy trivets are being entered into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Leap Into the Unknown Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Touchy Feely Challenge
Addicted to CAS Gift Challenge
Fab ‘n’ Funky Love Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Crafty Girls Creations Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes Challenge – WINNER
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge

22 Comments

Sheila H on March 5, 2016 at 9:14 pm

Glove your clever project! Thanks for sharing with 613 Avenue Create.
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- CraftyPaws on March 7, 2016 at 10:23 am
  
  Thanks so much Sheila! It was so fun and easy to make. I know I’ll be making more for little gift giving occasions. 🙂
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Chana Malkah Harris on March 5, 2016 at 11:42 pm

Thanks for the tutorial. Nice idea! We appreciate you sharing with us and our neighborhood!
Hugz,
Chana, Owner
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- CraftyPaws on March 7, 2016 at 10:24 am
  
  Thanks so much Chana! They were so fun and easy to make. 🙂
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julieanne1234@hotmail.com on March 6, 2016 at 6:39 am

Love your projects….so cute…Thank you for joining us at Fun n Funky this week…Joolsx
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- CraftyPaws on March 7, 2016 at 10:19 am
  
  Thanks bunches Jools! They were so fun to make! 🙂
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kath on March 6, 2016 at 11:10 am

wow…what a fun project…love your personalised cork trivets…thanks for joining us over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge…hugs kath xxx
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- CraftyPaws on March 7, 2016 at 10:19 am
  
  Thanks so much Kath! Yes, they were so fun and fast to make. I know I’ll be making more for my sister and the occasional quick gift here and there. 🙂
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Lin Brandyberry on March 6, 2016 at 5:31 pm

What a fantastic idea! These are really special, and we’re so pleased you shared them with us at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge!
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- CraftyPaws on March 7, 2016 at 10:20 am
  
  Thanks so much Lin! Yes, as crafters we have the ability to make truly personalized gifts for our loved ones. These were so fun and fast to make. I’ll be making more for sure! 🙂 TF stopping by! Hugs, Kristina
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Andrea Ockey Parr on March 7, 2016 at 1:17 am

What an incredibly clever project! I have never owned a dog in all my life, but this made me wish that I had a cute little doggie to use as my model for these trivets! I think you did a great job designing these and your project inspires me to think of all sorts of artsy trivets! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us for this week’s Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!
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- CraftyPaws on March 7, 2016 at 10:22 am
  
  Thanks so much Andrea! LOL Yes, these would be great to personalize for so many little gift giving occasions. A silhouette of a grandchild for mother’s day, monogrammed ones for a newlywed, hostess gifts with a design to fit the recipient’s home decor style…. Hope you give it a try! Hugs, Kristina
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Sarah on March 7, 2016 at 12:03 pm

Oh how adorably cute and a fun take on our gift challenge at ATCAS.
Thanks for sharing and playing along this week.
Sarah
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- CraftyPaws on March 10, 2016 at 12:37 pm
  
  Thanks so much Sarah! These were really fun to make and I loved the CAS functionality too! 🙂
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Theresa Pace on March 7, 2016 at 4:48 pm

so sweet and so useful! try varnishing them to make them more durable. thank you for sharing with us at TTCRD and good luck, Theresa DT.
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- CraftyPaws on March 10, 2016 at 12:38 pm
  
  Thanks so much Theresa! I was afraid varnish would not react well to hot pans, and so far they are wearing well with use. YAY! tf stopping by! Hugs, Kristina
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cohenna on March 8, 2016 at 1:39 pm

Beautiful !! Thanks for joining us at Fab’n’Funky Challenge 🙂
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- CraftyPaws on March 10, 2016 at 12:43 pm
  
  Thanks so much for your kind comment and for stopping by! Hugs, Kristina
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A J Rogers on March 12, 2016 at 7:24 pm

Now this is so darn cute! Thanks so much for sharing! Love it!
Have to try it out 😉
XO Nana
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- CraftyPaws on March 14, 2016 at 1:48 pm
  
  Thanks so much Nana! These were so fun and easy to make. I made a set for my sister with her 2 poodles on it too. 🙂 Hope you enjoy trying this out! TF stopping by! Hugs, Kristina
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VikiB on March 13, 2016 at 1:45 pm

What a great project! I love the silhouettes that you chose. So cute.
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- CraftyPaws on March 14, 2016 at 1:52 pm
  
  Thank you kindly! I also made a set for my sister who ooh’d and aaah’d about these trivets. Her two poodles are now decor in her kitchen too. 🙂
  Reply