Lettered Wooden Spoons DIY No Laser Necessary

Want lettered wooden spoons
but you don’t have a laser engraving machine? (Who does?)
You can DIY them our way with a wood burning tool
and a simple pattern you can make yourself. No laser necessary.

 

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Dressed up wooden spoons seem to be a thing these days,

so we did what we do.

Figure out a way to make them without a laser engraving machine. (On our wish list.)

 

Lettered Wooden Spoons DIY our way.

Supplies we used:

• A set of wooden spoons
• Wood burning tool
• Craft paint in the color of your choice and a 1″ foam brush
• Wood conditioner
• Graphite transfer paper

 

How we made them:

1. Make the pattern.

   Pick a font you like, and print words in a size that works for the wooden utensils. Cut the pattern down to a good fit to tape to the spoons.

   

2. Transfer the pattern.
   

   Tuck the graphite transfer paper behind the pattern, then carefully trace the outline of the letters onto the wood. Don’t worry if the outline is dark. Most of it will be covered with the wood burning, and the rest will go away when you condition the wood.

   

3. Wood burning.

   Plug the tool in to heat, keeping the tip away from anything flammable. I have a little clay pot I rest it on when I’m not holding it. (I use it for sealing ribbon ends so they don’t fray, or sealing plastic bags, but don’t do a lot of wood burning!)
   Here’s some tips we found while researching technique: Rest your hand while working, and turn the item you’re wood burning, rather than turning the tool. Use a chisel tip on the tool to outline the design first, then fill in the rest with a round tip. The first outline with the chisel tip should be done with a light hand so it doesn’t grab the grain of the wood. If it grabs the grain it could go off on a tangent, following the grain, and the design won’t end up as clear. The light hand seems to be an important tip for good results.

   

4. Painting.
   

   Many tutorials we looked at dip the handles in the paint, then let them drip to dry. However, that seems like unnecessary mess and a waste of paint. What do they do with the paint that drips off, which can be quite a lot? And a beginner might not get an even coat all the way around, without bubbles. So, we’ll stick with brushing it on. We end up doing four coats of paint to get an impressive finished look.
   Tip: Wrap painters or scotch tape around the spoons for a sharp painted edge. We propped the utensils into short, narrow cups with the handles up between coats so the paint could dry unhindered.

    

5. Conditioning.
   

   When the paint is dry, rub the utensils all over with the wood conditioner, and wipe it off with a clean rag. The conditioner makes your wood spoons look high end and helps preserve the good looks during use.

 

How our project turned out:

We loved how the wooden spoons turned out,

except that the burning, when you look up close, is sort of wavy and the dark wanted to seep into the wood beside the lines.

However, if you don’t look too closely, it’s worth a try.

Even good enough to give as a gift for a secret sister.

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s the DIY for hand lettered wooden spoons.

Will you try making your own?

Let us know how they turn out, if you do.