DIY Enameled Spoons Tutorial
These DIY enameled spoons are so easy and fun to make and require no experience or skill. They make a great hostess, housewarming, or engagement gift – or use them to serve dips. They are also a great way to customize teaspoons for a party (for example, you can use these as wedding cake spoons!) They are one of my favorite nail polish crafts. No one will believe you did these yourself and the finish on the crackle one, as you can see here, is beautiful and unique! Disclosure: this post contains commissioned links.
This post was originally published in 2014… that’s four years ago! It was one of the very first posts shared here on Moms & Crafters, well before I was serious about turning this blog into a full-time thing, but after I already had a crafting style that I wanted to share.
When it comes to making new, functional crafts, I like to keep things simple. For me, the point of crafting is twofold:
- To enjoy the process without pressure
- To customize my life and have a functional outcome.
These DIY faux enamel spoons give me both. They are so much fun to relax with and paint carefully spoon after spoon. While they might not be a long-term solution, they got plenty of use before the paint began to peel. And technically you can remove the finish using nail polish remover and decorate them again if they do get ruined.
A note:
Nail polish is NOT food safe. I typically used these in ways that the polish wouldn’t touch the food (such as for dips).
You can coat it with a layer of dishwasher safe Mod Podge if you’d like to extend the life. I haven’t tried it personally – it’s just the next step that comes to mind if you want to make it more food safe and durable.
The cool thing about nail polish: it comes in every single color under the rainbow. It even comes in cool finishes! Here, I made a color block version as well as a crackle polish version. Raid your stash and go crazy!
Check out the complete list of five minute craft ideas!
What you need to make your own faux enameled spoons:
- Simple stainless steel or similar spoons – I used these.
- Topcoat (if not sealing more permanently)
- Nail polish of your choice
How to make faux enameled spoons:
Watch the video below where I shared some more cool nail polish crafts – including these DIY enameled spoons – to see it in action! Or scroll down for detailed instructions specific to this craft:
1. Prep:
Clean your spoon well, removing any dirt or dust. This will help the polish stick better and go on smooth. Dry with a soft, absorbent cloth. Protect your surface. (If you get nail polish on your surface, you can clean it with nail polish remover). Make sure your work area is well-ventilated.
2. Apply two coats of nail polish.
Start with a horizontal stripe where you want your polish to end. Then apply the rest, stopping at that point. Let it dry completely between coats.
3. Apply a third coat
If you’re adding a cool finish, do it in your third coat. If you’re working with solids, you can make it bolder with a third coat of nail polish.
4. Apply a topcoat
Do this once the previous layers are completely dry. This is especially necessary for finishes or any patterns you make where it’s not just a block of color. You can also do this for the color block spoons for added durability.
5. Dry overnight
Give these spoons generous drying time – the time you can’t afford to give your nails!
6.Handle with care
Care instructions: Hand wash with a soft sponge, mild soap, and lukewarm water to get the most life out of these faux enameled spoons.
Important:
I’m assuming the nail polish is not made to be food safe. I figure that I handle my food and cook with nail polish on my hands all the time. I do not, however, recommend putting the painted part in actual food. If you paint to the bottom, use it in a shallow food. If you want to use it for tea, or in deeper dips, paint only the tops (as in the case of the color blocked spoons – or less!).
Loved these DIY enameled spoons? Check out the cool craft ideas below!
Awesome tutorial, this is such a cute idea! I’m definitely going to try it out.
Are these dishwasher safe? I like the look but I too need to know if food safe.
Hi! I did write to hand wash, as I do not have a dishwasher and did not test that. You can try it if you want and let me know. I would assume, though that it would wear out faster like that.
As far as nail polish being food safe: I did address that concern in the paragraph titled “Important”. I wear nail polish all the time, and it definitely comes in contact with my food. To be safe, though, in the way I use these spoons, the polish does not come in contact (I did not polish the bottom as you can see). If you are still concerned, you can use a natural polish such as piggy paint http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BOTTCM8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00BOTTCM8&linkCode=as2&tag=momsandcraft-20&linkId=FQ42V336HTOIPKKR
I hope this helped you!
Just pinned it and sent it to my sister and eldest daughter (10). We’re doing this; this weekend. I’m a mama of 6 so everything goes in the dishwasher, if it fails miserably,
I’ll let you know.;D
You made me laugh. I hope you have fun. And if you have enough fun, and it gets messed up in the dishwasher, you can just wipe it all off with NP remover and do it again 🙂 I’m assuming. I didn’t try it.
OH and if you do have a chance, I’d love to see photos of it once you’re done. But as a mama of 6 I’m sure you ARE busy….
I have never ever thought of this before, how clever! This would be so cute for a girls tea party!
What a cute idea! I am one of those women who keeps the table “made” between meals with the bowls and plates and such already out almost just for decoration. This sort of spoon would be great to have out for decoration near the tea pot.
Oh my goodness this is awesome! My kids will love this. Now they can personalize their stuff. Great and very crafty idea 🙂
That is such a great idea. I love the crackle effect.
Michelle F.
Cute idea! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams, starts on Fridays 😀 Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.
Love your diy. Feel free to drop by and share it at the party @DearCreatives Theresa
What a neat idea – and easy too! Definitely a craft my kiddos could do on their own one afternoon!
OMG, that came out so cute. I love this idea and might try this myself 🙂
What a cute idea! This would be really cute for a birthday party or slumber party as a favor! Thanks for sharing 🙂
That is something we do not normally see. that is a neat idea to try out one day when the entire family is here.
LOVE this! I’m pinning it!
Very cute idea!! I was also thinking about party favors. Thanks for sharing!
What a cute idea. I love how they look!
Who knew you could use nail polish to decorate spoons! Very different! I’ve also seen some cool tutorials about using decoupage techniques on old spoons. Some people have used them as garden markers.
Yona, that is a great idea!! Thanks for sharing!
These are so cute, I never would have thought to do this!
an awesome makeover for our aging cutlery! Thank you so much for sharing. I can’t wait to show this off for the Halloween and Christmas!
Cute idea. I would worry about the nail polish chipping off from constant washing.
So far so good… I washed them a few times. I recommend hand washing gently, although I imagine after hundreds of uses it would wear. I use mine occasionally – for special meals, as serving dishes. I imagine if it gets real bad after a while, you can soak the whole thing in nail polish remover, scrub, and have fun all over again!!
I would have never thought of using nail polish to decorate spoons. What a very clever, creative, and cool idea! They came out really cute!
How creative! I like colored themed utensils. I will share this to my mother-in-law!
I can see my daughter wanting to do this. How fun!
It’s a brilliant idea! Many compliments!
I found yor blog thanks to the linky party of Creative Jewish Mom.
Hugs
Sara
Love this idea, wonder if you could stamp letters into it with metal stamps? Wonderful to “meet” you and hope we’ll be seeing more of you at craft schooling Sunday!
If you try it, Let me know! and stay safe!!
What a great idea! It’s so easy to make some amazing-looking spoons!
how did you get the nail polish to look so….so….perfect? There aren’t any brush strokes and it looks so thick. I thought maybe you dipped them into a cup of paint, but that would be a TON of nail polish!
Hehe. When you put polish on your nails, you have to worry about it drying fast.. with this, you can put it thick, so there are no brush strokes, and allow it to dry overnight…
If you just did the handles instead of the whole spoon, then you could actually use them for things. I would like to do rainbow spoon handles because of all the colors of nail polish that I own. What a cool idea! Maybe I will do a couple and give them as gifts and keep a special one just for me. I’m sure even the Dollar Store would have cheap spoons you could do this with.
Hi Gail – that is a great idea and it makes a wonderful gift! I’ve seen cheap spoons in the dollar tree too!