DIY Enameled Spoons Tutorial

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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.

 

Click to see how easy it is to make your own DIY decorated spoons! These faux enamel teaspoons are so simple to make and are a beautiful functional nail polish craft for teens, tweens, and adults. #nailpolish #easycrafts #lifehacks

 

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:

  1. To enjoy the process without pressure
  2. 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:

DIY 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.

DIY enameled spoons

 

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.

DIY enameled spoons

 

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.

DIY 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!

15 more cool and functional nail polish crafts! These quick and easy crafts are perfect crafts for teens and tweens, or for when you're short on time and all use a common ingredient: nail polish!
More things to make with nail polish
summer crafts for tweens
Tetris Craft: Tetromino Magnets
Updated Bangles

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42 Comments

    1. 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!

  1. 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

    1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

    1. 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!!

  5. 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!

  6. 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!

    1. 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…

  7. 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.

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