Now that we have this pretty new wooden dining room table that my dad and I built, I’m trying to be super careful and keep the finish protected from scratches or damage. We invested in a few cute place mats and coasters, but I make tea every morning, so I figured we needed a trivet as well to protect the table from the heat of the tea kettle. So I made a super cute DIY river rock trivet!
It was so easy to make, and I love the look of the river rocks; it helps bring a little bit of nature indoors! Plus, the rocks absorb a ton of heat and they’re thick enough that the heat doesn’t pass all the way through to the table underneath, so they make the perfect trivet!
DIY River Rock Trivet
Here’s what you need:
- felt
- river rocks (you can get bags of these at most craft stores, usually in the floral department with other vase fillers)
- scissors
- hot glue
Start by picking out rocks that are about the same height or “flatness”. Obviously your trivet will not be perfectly flat, because rocks are not perfectly flat. But if you pull out the rocks that are all about the same height and aren’t weirdly slanted, you’ll end up with a trivet that’s smooth enough! Remember, it only takes three points to make a stable base, so even if the rocks are a little bumpy in places, whatever you set on the trivet will still be nice and stable!
Cut a large circle out of your felt, then glue river rocks onto the felt with hot glue, starting in the middle. I played around a bit with differently shaped rocks as I went, trying to make the rocks fit together with as small of a gap as possible. There will be some gaps, but you can minimize them by trying out a few rocks in a spot before gluing on the one that fits the best!
Keep gluing rocks until you get close to the outer edge. When you glue the final rocks around the edges, try to make them overhang the edge of the felt just a tiny bit. You definitely want enough rock on the felt to glue it securely, but if it hangs over the edge it will make a fun, “natural”, bumpy edge rather than the harsh edge of the felt circle you cut.
Once your entire piece of felt is covered in rocks, you’re done! If you have a few areas where felt shows around the edges, just flip the trivet over and trim away the excess felt with scissors.
Set your rock trivet on the table and enjoy!
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DIY River Rock Trivet
Equipment
- glue gun
Materials
- felt
- river rocks
Instructions
- Cut a large circle out of felt—this will be the base of your trivet.
- Attach river rocks to the felt with hot glue, starting in the middle. Try to find rocks that are about the same height (or "flatness") to help make a stable surface. Minimize gaps between the rocks by rotating or flipping the rocks for a closer fit before you glue them down. Keep gluing rocks until you are about 1 inch from the outer edge of the felt.
- For the outer edge of the trivet, let the rocks overhang the edge of the felt circle slightly when you attach them. This creates a more "natural" edge.
- Turn the river rock trivet over, trim away any excess felt around the outer edges, and you're done!
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Tara Siudy (Little Miss Dexterous) says
I LOVE bringing nature indoors! Great project! Pinning and sharing!