Mix kids and mud and you have a kid having fun. With just a little structure they can make a trivet for a gift in no time.
Approximate Time: 3 hours
Supplies:
- grout or plaster of Paris
- acrylic paint
- 16 craft sticks
- 4 1/2 x 1/4 inch wood block
- good glue
- assorted buttons
- 4 small wooden plugs
Instructions:
Note: If you choose shank buttons make sure they are no taller than the top of the craft sticks or cut the shank off with nippers.
- Glue two of your sticks to opposite sides on the top of your block; before they dry measure and trim two more sticks to fit inside the opposite two sides and glue them in place as in the photo.
- Repeat putting the two full sticks on the side with the two trimmed sticks this time.
- Glue the four wood plugs in four corners on the bottom side. Let the glue dry then paint all, but the inside of the top, as shown in the first photo.
- When the paint is dry mix up your mud or use grout or plaster of Paris. If you use flour and water, mix it until it is just past being sticky. You want it thick, but not sticky.
- It helped me to trace the block on paper then I laid out my buttons in a pattern that I liked before I started so I had an idea where to place the main buttons. Then I started with the larger ones and the word buttons followed by the smaller ones to fill in where I needed. Make sure everything is level with the top of the top row of the sticks. After all the buttons were placed I filled in with seed beads pushing them into the wet cement.
By Ann Winberg from Loup City, NE
