Build Your Own Trivets, Stands and More

You probably think that fancy wooden trivets, stands and similar wood pieces have to be purchased or made by someone who is handy with tools. You might not know that you can easily build a huge assortment of these things using nothing but a glue gun. No sawing, no hammering - just glue. With pre-cut wooden pieces from a craft store you can build any number of useful things for your home.

Assemble a trivet to protect your table or counter top by starting with a large wood piece. This piece can be square or round and can be made from thin wood or thick. Paint the unfinished shape or use it as-is. Glue a piece of felt, fabric or even cork on top. Glue large wooden beads to the underside of the trivet. If youre making a square one use four beads underneath, but for a round one, evenly space three beads on the bottom. These handy trivets can be made as large or small as you want.

Make pedestals for candles, picture frames, statuettes and other d?cor pieces by starting with two identical wooden shapes. These can be round, square, oval or another shape but must be the same size and thickness. Paint the wooden shapes or use them in their unfinished condition. To assemble the pedestal start by gluing large wooden beads on the bottom to use as legs for the stand. Now glue the same amount of beads on the top of the stand making sure to align them with the beads on the bottom. Position the second shape over these top beads and glue it in place. These stands are simple but eye-catching. Make large ones to hold a plant or small ones to display a kids small trophy. Make many different pedestal-type stands by the supplies you choose. Instead of gluing on wooden beads, for example, attach short, large-diameter wooden dowels. These are available, already cut, at most any craft store. Glue these on instead of wooden beads and the stands can be much taller. Youll have a huge variety of them if you combine sizes, shapes and more. For instance, use small wooden shapes and long dowels to make tall, slender pedestals. Use large wooden pieces but short, fat dowels, and youll create a different tiered stand. All the stands you make dont have to be ordinary shapes. Craft stores sell a variety of unusual-shaped wood, like puppy shapes, flowers, footballs and others. These shapes allow you to get creative with d?cor in a childs room or unusual stands for other areas of the home. Theyre all very simple and very useful!