Coffee Bean Trivet

What do you get when you combine coffee beans and recycled bottles? Fun kitchen accessories! Today I have one last recycled bottle project to share with you for a little while (until inspiration hits me over a cup of coffee again, I mean). I made up this durable DIY trivet for protecting your tables from hot pans and dishes using just a couple of supplies.

For this project, you will need:

• A wide glass bottle (mine was a quart bottle that had lemonade in it in its former life)
• A way to cut it – I love my Kinkajou (that’s not an affiliate link, I just want to show you the tool if you’re in the market for one)
• Epoxy resin (like Ice Resin, and that is an affiliate link to Goody Beads) with cups and stir sticks
• Coffee beans, or whatever you want to fill your trivet with

I’ve shown you a couple projects I’ve used my Kinkajou bottle cutter on, and I’ll give you the brief rundown of how it works – you score a line with the tool very close to the bottom on the bottle. This will be a very shallow dish.

Next, you add the separation rings to concentrate where you’ll run alternating hot and cold water on the scored line. It will crack and separate – in just a minute or two, many times! Thicker bottles take a little longer, but this thing is brilliant for getting a clean line.

Sand the edge to be sure it’s not sharp, and mix up equal parts of resin and hardener according to the exact product instructions. Most resins will require that you mix for a couple minutes in one container, switch to a clean container, and stir for another minute. Resin is actually really easy. All you have to do is stir.

Pile your trivet up with coffee beans and cover your work surface. VERY slowly, pour resin over the beans, allowing it to fill all the cracks. Be very careful not to let it overflow. If you spill any, wipe it with a damp paper towel and wash your hands really well.

If you get any bubbles on top, you can iften just blow gently on them to get them to pop. Finally, set it aside and let it sure for about 24 hours. You’ll have a hard, shiny finish like this when you’re done!

The resin withstands heat quite well, and it looks cool, too!

I LOVE recycling to give discarded items a new life! What do you think? What would you fill yours with?