Make a Craft Stick Heart Trivet

Jan 19, 2012
Susan Caplan

Valentine Heart Trivet - Photo by Susan Caplan McCarthy

A handful of craft sticks and some paint and glue are all you need for an afternoon of crafting with your child. Perfect for Valentine's Day tea parties.

A trivet is a useful object that protects your furniture from hot pots or pitchers of iced drinks that could drip condensation on your table. This heart-shaped trivet is made from jumbo craft sticks and is perfect for Valentine’s Day and any day of the year. A child ages nine or ten and up could do this project on her own. For younger children, this is a perfect parent-child craft where both adult and child can work together to create something that can be displayed on the table. This trivet is cute enough that you may decide to hang it on the wall.

Craft Materials

You will need a package of jumbo (3/4” wide) wood craft sticks. You won’t use the entire package.
White craft glue. Make certain the package doesn’t say washable or the trivet could fall apart when you place something on it.
Acrylic paint in two colors and a paint brush. You want a base color and an accent color. Think red and white; light and dark pink; light and dark purple; pink and white, etc.
Newspaper and/or waxed paper on which to work the project
Scissors sturdy enough to cut a craft stick in half.

Make a Valentine’s Day Craft or an Any Day Arts and Craft Project

Over the work area set down the newspaper or waxed paper.
Have your child paint eleven jumbo craft sticks in your main color. He only needs to paint one side of the sticks.
Cut three craft sticks on the diagonal roughly in the middle of the stick. Have your child paint both sides of these pieces in the accent color.
Allow the paint to dry thoroughly.
Set the painted side of the full craft sticks down on the waxed paper. Position the sticks in a heart-shape. (See the photo.) The bottom of each stick will be approximately a half-inch higher that the stick next to it. Squeeze white glue where the craft sticks sit next to one another. (Chances are the sticks won’t fit tight next to the other sticks; just squeeze in more glue.)
Now add another layer of sticks to add strength to the trivet. Since the sticks forming the heart are vertical, place the support sticks horizontal so they go across a few of the painted sticks. Remember, you are still working on the back of the trivet. When necessary, the adult should cut more craft sticks to fit smaller areas of the heart.
Allow the glue to dry thoroughly before turning the trivet right-side (painted-side) up.
Position the accent sticks in the shape of three hearts, overlapping the cut edges. Glue in place.

The trivet is finished. With a permanent marking pen, have your child write his or her name along with the date (at least the year); this turns this item into a keepsake of your afternoon together. If the parent chooses to do so, spray both sides of the trivet with several coats of polyurethane, allowing each coat to dry completely before adding the next coat (your child shouldn’t be present). Display this Valentine’s Day trivet any day of the year.