Start by folding the sheets of newspaper in half. Divide them lengthwise and horizontally. You will have six nearly square pieces of newsprint. Starting with the first square, at one corner make a diagonal fold about 3/8 inch wide, then make a nice sharp crease, this is your initial fold. This will be your guide line for all six pieces of newsprint, so make a fold in each one the same size as your first one. The size doesn’t have to be exact; the pieces just have to match from the beginning so they will be the same at the end. Go back to your first piece, try to keep your folds flat, and keep folding over the original fold, until you have a long, thin strip of newsprint. Put a little drop of glue on the last fold and let it dry while you fold the next piece and so on until you have all six pieces folded.

Now, the sort of tricky part; your first fold will be the most important, so take your time. Take one end of your first strip, it should be dry by now, and use about one inch to make a flat c-shape, and then fold the rest of your strip around it until it makes an oval. If you want a triangle-shaped trivet, make a v-shape, for a half circle, a capital letter D-shape and so on. When you’re almost out of paper, add another drop of glue to the inside of the piece that’s almost gone and slide the beginning of the next strip inside the first strip, then keep on folding a larger and larger oval, until you’ve used up all six strips. Right now your trivet will look sort of like an old-fashioned braided rug, and your hands will be dirty and sticky!!!!! Go wash them while the last drop of glue dries. Now you can either use three large wooden beads of the same size, or you can do the next project and make your own beads! Glue the beads close to the edge of your trivet in the shape of a triangle on the bottom so you can put hot pots or hot plates on your table without damaging it. If you like you can paint your trivet with acrylic paints, but remember, never wash a paper trivet!