Wood burned spoons pretty DIY - How to gift them creatively

Looking for a quick DIY gift? Here's a super simple way to add a touch of beauty to ordinary items. Create personalized wooden spoons with the pyrography wood burning technique. Wood burned spoons make quick and easy DIY gifts for everyone! Keep some back for yourself and add them to a crock or jug to make a creative kitchen counter display.

This craft is part of a blogger DIY challenge - check the links at the end of this post for more beautiful DIY gift ideas from my friends! (Read more about the challenge below).

THE BLOGGER DIY CHALLENGE – APRIL

I joined up with some amazing bloggers for this DIY challenge. The brief was to make a DIY gift and share the tutorial with you! Thanks to Sydney of Sydney and Co Blog for organising!

This is my interpretation of the challenge. Don't forget to check out all my friend's posts for more amazing inspiration. See their links at the end of this post.

What is pyrography?

Pyrography is simply a wood-burning technique. A special tool called a pyrography pen is used for wood burning. You can buy a pyrography pen as part of a set or on its own. Most pyrography sets include lots of interchangeable 'nibs' for creating various patterns or text. You can either burn a pattern onto the wood freehand or draw a pattern onto the wood first and then trace over the pattern with the wood-burning tool.

Is it safe to use wood burned spoons?

Yes, it's safe to use wood burned spoons in your kitchen. Even if you have used the method of tracing a pattern onto the wood with a pencil, the wood-burning burns away the pencil making them spoons safe to use.

How do you seal wood burned spoons?

You don't need to seal wood burned spoons. However, if you prefer, you can enhance the pattern and 'feed' the wood by coating the spoon with natural plant-based oil. I always used linseed oil (flax oil) to care for all of my wood utensils whether they be used in the kitchen or the garden. These days, I use homemade Calendula oil. Calendula oil with its antibacterial properties is a great choice for sealing wood burned spoons or any wooden utensils and wooden cutting boards.

What can I do with old wooden spoons?

If you have wooden spoons which are cracked or damaged you shouldn't use them in your kitchen anymore. That doesn't mean that you have to throw them away! Here are a few ideas for using old wooden spoons.

Use them as plant markers in the garden. You could use the using the wood-burning technique to etch the names of plants or herbs onto the spoons.

Keep them in a separate jar or jug for display purposes in the kitchen. Add some dried flowers to create a pretty display.

Display them on the wall or hang them on a kitchen rack.

Use the wood-burning technique to create patterns on the spoons and then use them as gift tags for presents. You could also use chalk paint to create fun patterns by dipping the spoons in the paint. Remember to tell the recipient that the spoons are not meant for use!

Here's what you'll need to create wood burned spoons.

My wood burned spoons are meant as gifts so I'm using new wooden spoons in today's DIY project.

Wood Burned spoons – materials

Materials needed to make wood burned spoons - a wood burning/pyrography tool, pyrography tool holder taped to a wooden board, wooden spoons, and a pencil

Wooden spoons

Pencil

Wood burning set

Oil for sealing and absorbent kitchen towel (optional)

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In the UK

In the USA

In Europe

You can also purchase wood burning kits here:

USA | UK | EU

Wood burned spoons – how to

SAFETY TIPS:

This is not a craft for children because the wood-burning tool gets very hot. I also recommend protecting your workspace before you start. I used a small piece of left-over plywood for this which also came in handy to practice my designs on.

A stand for your pyrography tool should be included in the set. I recommend taping it to your surface before you start so that it doesn't move around or get knocked over while you are working.

Work in a well-ventilated area. If you are creating a large design where lots of smoke is being created, you should consider wearing a mask. No smoke was made during these small projects so I didn't feel I needed a mask. I also had all the windows open whilst I was burning the wood.

The heat from the wood-burning tool makes the handle hard to hold at times. You may need a pair of protective gloves or something to wrap around the handle.

If you want to change the tip, you will need to turn off the tool. Let it cool for five to ten minutes before you touch it. The instructions I received with my kit said to wait two minutes but that wasn't nearly enough.

Design Tip

If you are wood-burning spoons for the first time, I recommend drawing the design onto the spoon first before burning. I practised my designs on the plywood first which turned out to be a good idea because that's how I found the correct tip to use. I thought it would be a good idea to choose a fine tip to start but the burn was so faint, I could hardly see it. After I changed to a thicker nib with a flat surface, I was able to burn the wood more quickly.

Step one

Draw or trace your design onto the spoons.

A wooden spoon with a pencil drawing of a flower

Step 2

set the temperature to 350 for burning the spoons and allow the pyrography tool to heat up for around five minutes before you start.

Step 3

Trace around the lines with the wood-burning tool. There is no need to press hard, just lightly, guide the tool around the design.

A persons hands using a pyrography tool to make wood burned spoons

Step 4

Go back over any lines which are too faint if you need to and fill in darker areas.

Step 5

This step is optional. Douse a piece of folded kitchen towel in a mineral or food-safe oil. Cover the spoons with the oil and allow them to sit overnight.

Three wood burned spoons with flower designs. A bottle of golden coloured calendular oil and a pice of absorbant kitchen paper.

That's it! Your wood burned spoons are now ready for use in your kitchen or gifting.

Gifting wood burned spoons

Here's how I wrapped my wood burned spoons for gifting.

I used a pretty table runner to wrap the rosemary plant and tied it on with some brown string. Then I used more string and some lace ribbon to tie the wood burned spoons to the wrapped rosemary.

A DIY brown paper bag containing a pot of rosemary wrapped in a beige table runner. Three wood burned spoons with flower designs are tied to the rosemary with white ribbon and brown string.

The gift looks lovely just as it is but I went a step further and placed it inside one of my DIY paper bags.

You could place the gift inside a small basket instead.

A black and beige striped basket containing a pot of rosemary wrapped in a beige table runner. Three wood burned spoons with flower designs are tied to the rosemary with white ribbon and brown string.

Lastly, I added a chalkboard gift tag.

A close-up of a chalkboard gift tag with the words "Thank you" written in pencil.

This would make a super house warming gift or a 'Thanks for having me' gift to thank your host when you've been their guest.

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Want more inspiration? Come and see what the lovely ladies from the DIY Blogger Challenge have come up with for this challenge. Use the link party below to hop around to all the blogs.