This spring several stamped-spoon tutorials were making the Pinterest rounds. I saved this one for making silver spoon plant markers (from Christina at intimate weddings.com). It seemed like a good project for The Dude - he does love banging on things. His Dad & Grampa both have green thumbs so plant markers seemed like a good Fathers Day project.
If you want to see this project "done right" click the link to Christina's tutorial in the last paragraph. We tend to wing it, so ours is the quick & dirty version.
First I picked up a couple of dozen stainless steel spoons from the thrift store. (Not as pretty as silver but much more affordable.) We learned a couple of things - (1) the bigger spoons were easiest to flatten & (2) spoons marked Oneida were the hardest to work with.
In her tutorial Christina pounded her silverware between boards for a flat even surface. Thor (I mean, The Dude) was having none of that. He wanted the noise! And of course he had to use the biggest hammer.
I'm assisting the master craftsman
For the text, use a letter punch. I think ours came from Harbor Freight. I originally bought it for stamping into leather. By the way, don't use a brass mallet if you do not want it getting dinged up. Fortunately, mine is a cheap-o one.
While not as pretty as the picture perfect pieces we've seen online, these definitely have character!
Next, color over the lettering with permanent marker. We only had a laundry pen, but it did the job and is waterproof.
Then wipe off. Again, we used what was on hand - in this case clorox wipes.
The ink will stay in the grooves. At this point, I suppose you could treat with spray lacquer but we left them as is.
The kid had fun making these and they were well received by the dads (& our neighbor for her birthday). It is an easy project that I definitely recommend.
If you are looking for something new to try, I have many tutorials pinned on my boards. Find them at http://pinterest.com/artsnark/
And if you haven't entered the latest giveaway, leave a comment on my blog before 7/26 to get your name in the hat. 3 random winners will receive either a hand dyed drawstring backpack or a painted glow-in-the-dark key chain from Spin Your World on Etsy. Click Here for details & to see prizes
I dunno.... he must be better at it than I am. Mine were hard as nails, and impossible to flatten! Glad you guys had fun with it..... more power to you!!
ReplyDeletestainless steel...gee. they are really hard...especially to stamp the letters on...eva
ReplyDeleteOnly the Oneida brand ones were really hard. The others were okay - we were using a heavy mallet so that (& the boy's enthusiasm) probably made it easier
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to make these, but don't have those letter stampers. The only Harbor Freight around is in Pasco I think and I'm never up there.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome... can't wait to try these with my kids!
ReplyDelete