How to Make a Kitchen Trivet Using Wine Corks

Free-Form Trivet

• 1

  Cut each wine cork in half with a utility knife, making each half as even as possible to give the trivet an even surface.

• 2

  Arrange the half corks in your pattern of choice by placing them next to each other with the circles face-up. For example, to form a small square trivet, make eight rows of eight wine corks.

• 3

  Glue the corks together by running a hot glue gun along the side of each one and pressing the neighboring one into place. Repeat this until all of the corks in your pattern are connected.

• 4

  Line the outside of the cork trivet with a ribbon. Fill the crevices between each cork with a line of hot glue and push the ribbon into place, making sure it fits around each cork. Let the glue dry overnight before using the trivet.

Framed Trivet

• 5

  Cut a square or rectangle from plywood in the dimensions you desire for the trivet. Sand down any rough edges and fill in any indentations with wood putty.

• 6

  Cut four sections from a piece of thin wood trim that are large enough to form a frame around the plywood. Place the wood trim around the plywood without attaching it and do a test layout of the cork pieces by arranging them horizontally within the frame. Make any adjustments to the frame location to accommodate the corks.

• 7

  Place a line of wood glue onto each trim piece and press it into place on the plywood. Let it dry for at least six hours.

• 8

  Paint or varnish the plywood and frame with a heat-resistant product and let it dry.

• 9

  Fill in the space between the frame by gluing the corks horizontally in the same way as you test-fitted them in Step 2.