make something monday :: embroidered cork trivet

Hello and happy Monday friends! We had an insanely busy weekend over here. I had the pleasure of teaching class all day at Fusion Beads here in Seattle on Saturday which is always so much fun, and then on Sunday morning we left our house bright and early (6:30am) with all three kids in tow and made our way to Church for most of the day to do the music. When we got home yesterday after 3pm I was so pooped and happy that we managed to survive such a full schedule!

I also had the pleasure of meeting some of my new favorite blogger friends, The Ravenna Girls for a cupcake and coffee this weekend. I have had such fun getting to know Brianne and Danielle the past few months in person, they are such a treat! They blessed our kids with some fun hand-me-down bean bag chairs (the kids LOVE them!) and they also gifted me this gorgeous post for this mornings make something monday feature! I am so excited to share it with you it's really adorable!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend whatever you found yourself up too. I am off to accomplish some things around home today and will be back soon!

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Good day, friends! It is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to share this space once again, especially as we've gotten to know Rebekah in person in the last couple of months. Friends are such a great blessing, especially those made through such a surprising venue as the internet.

So here we go!

Last fall, we picked up a couple packs of HEAT cork trivets at IKEA and have been hanging onto them to spruce up for the table. I had considered painting, but couldn't quite find the right paint that was good for cork but also heat proof. You don't want your trivet to stick to the bottom of your hot dish, after all. I have heard good thinks about wood burning cork, but I was itching for a little more color. Then, I spotted these coasters on Craft blog and it got my wheels turning. Last weekend we picked up a bag of springy cotton cord at the Goodwill, and the idea for these trivets was born!

I used the smaller of the HEAT cork trivets for these. On one side, mark out your geometric grid using pencil lines and a ruler. For this size, I started 3/4" from the edge, and spaced the grid 1.5 apart.

Since I knew that I would be going through each point several times, I punctured each grid point with a knitting stitch holder just enough to guide the needle. You could also use a bamboo skewer, toothpick, or sturdy needle.

Then its just a matter of threading your needle and experimenting with geometric patterns amongst the grid pattern. I did one in two shades of green in preparation for St. Patty's day, and another getting ready for Easter.
 

The best part is that you could pull out the string, and re-use for the next holiday, making an inexpensive and easy seasonal craft. Happy Crafting!

 If you didn't want to use these on the table top, they would also make cute little message boards:

{Couple small notes: (1) you might notice a switched from a plastic yarn needle to a metal needle halfway through. This is because the cork broke my plastic needle, and I found that the metal needle actually worked better if you can find one with an eye large enough for your string. (2) I first tried drilling the holes, but it was a disaster. You don't need anything nearly that powerful to set your grid}

Thanks so much to Rebekah for having us again, we hope to be back someday soon!

*don't forget to check out the Ravenna Girls blog HERE and say hello. They have tons of fun craft inspiration and eye candy over there and they are truly the sweetest ladies ever! Thanks girls xoxo!