Twig Trivet

Easy and Rustic;

There have been a few times lately when I needed a trivet - that's a little raised up item to put a hot pot on that protects the counter top. 

Even though they are called a 'trivet' they don't always have three legs; I made this one out of twigs which I've had drying out in the greenhouse, just waiting for the right rustic craft to make.

They are Syringa josikaea, or Hungarian Lilac.  Not grown for their lovely flowers or evocative scent, these tend towards really straight fast growth, perfect for grafting other forms of lilacs onto to make a standard tree.

As a graft, the finished tree is prone to 'water sprouts' which tend to emerge from the roots.  The root stock is more vigorous than the graft, and will take over; hence the need to prune them off every year. That's what these twigs are; the long straight growth of the grafted understock or root stock.

I like them because of the 'lenticels'; white markings on the stems. 

I don't do anything else to these twigs - no rasping of the ends, no coating of oil or other preservative.

Other items that I need are a pair of needle nosed pliers, and tie wire.  You can see more about the tools that I recommend, and some wire techniques for crafts here.

Two pieces of wire are folded in half, and then each twig is wrapped in the wire.  It's important to twist the wire tightly, or the twigs are too loose and will work their way out.

The finished twig trivet has a loop in the wire, so I can hang it up, ready for use.  Should I trim off the ends, do you think, or just leave them rustic and ragged?