A Beautiful Bead Trivet

Well hello there! Two Sundays ago, I stopped by a thoroughly enjoyable gift market: 

It's called the Renegade Craft Fair. I've written about it here and I think it's a wonderful showcase of handmade talent. Check out this schedule -- there might be one where you live.

Over 200 makers were there selling food, ceramics, jewelry, prints, dolls, clothing, bags, decor, and goodies for gifting.

There were free workshops, too. I was able to attend the one facilitated by Paul Lowe, a.k.a. Sweet Paul.

He showed us how to make wooden bead trivets.

They're very simple to make. All we need are large wooden beads and leather cord. 

Cut two pieces of cord. One should be able to hold 15 beads and another, 9 beads. For both pieces of cord, make sure to add an extra 6 inches before cutting. These are necessary to make knots.

A neat trick to quickly get the beads on the cord is wrapping one end with some aluminum foil. It'll act like a needle.

Then string on the beads. 

The outer ring should have 15 beads and the inner ring will contain 9 beads. To finish, make at least 3 knots on each "necklace".

Nest the smaller one inside the bigger one and we've got a chic and useful trivet. TADA!

It's perfect to rest hot-from-the-oven food for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays.