Introduction: How to Create a Beautiful Stone Trivet Using Sugru Grips
Sugru will create a strong bond with the rock as it is porous and is easily formed by hand to make the grips custom heights. The grips will stop the rock scratching your kitchen surface too.
For this project you will need:
- A flat stone (we collected ours from the beach!)
- 1 or 2 minipacks of sugru (depending on the size of the rock)
- Scissors
- Dry tissue paper
- Clingfilm
- Texturing tool: try netting, sandpaper or a scalpel
TOP TIP:
Wash the stone the night before you start the project - the sugru will bond to a clean surface much better. I gave the stone a quick scrub and left it out to dry.
As well as this instructable, we also filmed a video tutorial for you! -
Step 1: Preparing the Rock and Sugru
To begin, decide which is the flattest side of the rock - it is important to have an even surface at the top. We can level out the base with the sugru grips.
Choose what colour you would like the grips to be: bright colours look great, or mix white and black to get grey as I have here.
Cut open the sugru and peel back the foil. Knead it between your fingers, adding a small blob of black to the packet of white to get a smooth grey colour. Keep mixing for about a minute until the colours are fully blended.
If it gets a bit sticky, wipe your fingers with dry tissue paper. You are now ready to begin moulding the grips!
Step 2: Building Up the Grips
3 grips should be sufficient for most rocks, but if it's particularly large go for 5 instead. Place a small ball of sugru where you would like the base grips to be, and pat them down flat. Using the pads of your finger, work the first of these pieces of sugru into the rock. This will ensure you have a strong bong between the sugru and the stone.
Press a large ball of sugru into each grip, making sure it gets a good bond with the base layer. Pinch this into a cone shape. If your rock is particularly uneven, make bigger cone shapes on this side.
To check if the top of the trivet is even, place the rock sugru-side down onto a piece of cling film (it won't stick to this!). If you put a teapot or object on top this will indicate when it is level.
Your trivet is now the right height!
Step 3: Texturing the Grips
Texturing is a great way to add grip to sugru, is super easy to do and looks great.
Here I have used a piece of netting to get a hexagonal pattern but there are loads of everyday things that make a great texture: try sandpaper, a scalpel or the edge of a screw.
Wet the end of the grips with soapy water to ensure it does not stick to the sugru. Press the stone sugru side down into a sheet of the texture. Alternatively, roll the texture across the sugru.
Step 4: Leave to Cure
You can also watch our new video of how to make the teapot trivet here if you like :)
