DIY "Dipped" Wood Spoons, Take II

I picked up these wooden utensils for pocket change at Ikea (they're a lot more "pared back" than this more expensive set, but I don't have a "before".  Just picture plain wood utensils).  I intended to use them for the play kitchen Hubs and I DIY'd.  But then I realized how small kid's hands are (really, really small) and came to my senses.  These would be like lacrosse sticks for my wee little cousins!  I have a real issue remembering what size kids are.  Buying kid's clothes is a nightmare plus I'm always buying too-advanced books and games.

So the utensils sat, half-finished, in the basement for awhile, until I recently decided to just wrap up the project and use them for myself!  I did the same thing I did for my last set of dipped spoons (which had been grabbed from the drawer as an experiment, not like this squeaky clean brand new set I got to "dip").

Some folks have used food safe paint and varnish for their dipped spoons, which is a fabulous idea.  The painted part of my other spoons never touches the food, so mine haven't posed an issue even though I've used latex paint and regular varnish.

I'm happy to incorporate some more of the the mint hue I was mooning over.  Plus, look at what an awesome prop the recently made over antique chair is!

 

A bit of a repeat performance, I know, but I had to share.  Plus, you got a glimpse of my new Pyrex bowl.  I have two of the gooseberries on white - recently thrifted.  I'm missing the other two to make a set . . .

P.S. Don't forget, these are hand wash only.

DIY Painted Wooden Spoons

I have pinned so many inspiring ideas to my "DIY to Try" board on Pinterest that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I've noticed how much longer the "to try" list is than the "My DIY Projects" board I started.  To remedy that, I've been chipping away at the ideas/projects I've pinned.  Last week I made a simple abstract, inspired by a painting I pinned and loved.  More recently, I tackled some wooden spoons.

I saw these gorgeous wooden spoons from Milk Farm Road and was instantly smitten.  Pinned!  I think gussying up the handles of wooden spoons with paint, or even stain, is such a simple but clever idea.

Milk Farm Road vintage painted spoons

Feeling emboldened, I rummaged around in my cooking utensil drawer and found two, inexpensive dollar-store wooden spoons to experiment on.  Because the spoons weren't varnished or coated with anything, I didn't need to sand and I didn't bother priming.  Lazy!

I taped off where I wanted the colour to be and, using the same acrylic paint I use for my artwork (I actually did these while tweaking the bedroom abstracts), I painted on two, super thin layers of paint, letting each coat dry for about an hour.  I used Hubby's work bench to keep them upright as they dried.

The next day, I remove the tape and applied a super thin coat of water-based varathane finish (we have tons left over from our DIY desk project).  I applied the finish just slightly over the painted surface because I didn't want a really pronounced edge of where the paint and clear coat begin.  I let the spoons dry overnight (but will have to refrain from using them for another two days, as per manufacturer's instruction).

This photo captures the glossiness:

And voila!  I want to grab every single wooden spoon and paint the ends.

I think this would look so cute for wood serving ware, too, like wood salad tongs.  And you can use craft paint, leftover wall paint - even stain.  I plan on running these through the dishwasher and I will keep you up to date on wearing/fading.  It is probably best to hand wash these, though, and I don't recommend painting any part that touches food or using a toxic, lead-based paint.

EDIT: Yep, hand washing is best.  The dishwasher did not get along with these painted spoons.  No biggie - nothing a little touch-up won't fix!

How about you - are you tackling any projects you've pinned on Pinterest?  Can we all agree that simply pinning something is productive?

P.S. I linked this project up to the DIY Project Parade at the DIY Showoff!

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