Our Hopeful Home: DIY Engraved Farmhouse Wooden Kitchen Utensils

engraved wooden spoon spatula cooking kitchen grainsack towel

I must start off by admitting that this DIY engraved wooden kitchen utensil project was supposed to be finished for Father's Day, but it just never got off the ground until AFTER Father's Day (sorry, honey). I will also admit that it was not an easy task, nor is it for the faint of heart. But I was determined to try it, since I really think wooden spoons are a farmhouse kitchen staple. If you'd like to know my tips and tricks for engraving wooden kitchen utensils, read on.

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I scoured the internet for some tutorials on the subject before starting out, but I didn't have much luck. By that I mean what information I did find really didn't shed much light on the how-to's versus the here-is-my-finished-product-isn't-it-pretty part. So I took a leap of faith and just jumped right in.

farmhouse wooden spoons spatulas on cutting board grainsack towel

First I collected a whole bunch of wooden utensils from my local Dollar Tree. While most were only a dollar, I did buy two for a bit more at Ikea. I think those were two bucks a piece. All of them had holes on the end of the handles, which I liked. Just a personal preference. (NOTE: The first two pictures, including the one below, are not of the spoons I used for this project. I just liked the way they look.) You can also buy nice wooden spoons online.

farmhouse wooden spoons spatulas cutting board grainsack towel

Next, I knew I wanted to say something catchy, so I came up with a list of possible words I'd like to use. (Feel free to pilfer for your own DIY project!)

1. Hot

2. Yum

3. Delish

4. Spicy

5. Stir

6. Flip

7. Fry

Black Decker soldering engraving wood burning tool

Once I had the list of potential words, I got out my Black & Decker Craft & Soldering Iron that doubles as a wood burning tool and got to work on a practice spoon. I'm assuming different tools perform differently, so I can only speak as to how mine handled. And I have to say that for me, I found it quite awkward and tough to hold. I wanted to hold it like a pen but due to the design, and the heat, that was not going to happen.

I used the universal tip to burn the outline of the letters and then went back and used the tapered tip to burn inside the lines.

engraved farmhouse wooden spoon spatula cooking kitchen mason jar boxwood wreat

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN ENGRAVED WOODEN KITCHEN UTENSILS

SUPPLIES: Wood burning tool, wooden kitchen utensils, computer, printer, paper, pencil

1. Purchase wooden utensils.

2. Make a list of words you'd like to use. (See my list above.)

3. Print the words out in Word, making sure the size works with the size of your utensils. (The font I used is called AR Bonnie.) If you're a calligrapher you can obviously just freehand it!

wood burning engraving wooden spoon spatula kitchen cooking hot

4. Cut out the words. Turn the printed paper over to the back side and first trace only the outside of the letters you want to use. See above. Set paper aside.

NOTE: Most likely your best bet is to burn your image onto the outside of the spoon. Meaning: it's harder to burn letters onto the inside of a spoon because it's concave.

5. Insert the tip into the tool. Caveat: Make sure you're using the right tip. (See my cautionary tale above.)

6. Heat up your wood burning tool, carefully following all manufacturer's instructions! (My tool takes more than 10 minutes to reach maximum temperature.)

7. Flip the paper back over to the front and line up the word where you want it to be on the utensil. Then trace around the front of each letter this time, being sure not to move the paper as you trace. (I taped it down to be safe, tape not shown here.)

8. Carefully lift up the paper and you should see a faint outline of your word. Then use your tool with the appropriate tip and burn the pattern that you've drawn.

9. Be sure to unplug the tool.

NOTE: If you're a stickler for uniformity like I am you'll want all the words to go in the same direction. You can see that mine all read from left to right going the same way on all the utensils. That way, when they're placed in the utensil jar together, they look uniform.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

Practice, practice, practice! Find some old wood and just try out different things -- I chose to make words, but you can make shapes as well. These would make awesome housewarming gifts! Just think about the person(s) you're making them for and that will give you some ideas as to how you should decorate them.

The end result font may look somewhat different from the font as it looks printed on paper. My font is actually quite thin, yet it ended up looking thicker on the utensils because I chose to fill it in.

I found that the hardest thing was to maintain the right amount of pressure without overdoing it --- it takes a steady and very patient hand to burn the wood just right. Notice I said patient -- something I'm afraid I'm not. So while they did not come out professional looking, I think they'll pass!

TO TREAT OR NOT TO TREAT? I believe that I'm going to "treat" the utensils in some way before using them with food but for now I just want to look at them! I've read conflicting things about how to treat and what to use (i.e., coconut oil, etc.) so until I find some definitive directions I will keep these babies as eye candy in the kitchen. Good news, I did read that wooden utensils are actually resistant to certain bacteria! Who knew?

BEWARE: To say the tip gets super hot is an understatement. Be sure not to touch the tip with your hands and always place it down on a burn proof surface. My tool kit is nice in that it has a stand to place the tool in even when it's hot. Also, it smells like a wood burning stove while you're working. Personally I like it but you may need to open a window if you're not a fan of the scent of burning wood. It can also emit slight wisps of smoke that I found burned my eyes if I was leaning in too close to the actual burn site.

engraved wooden spoon spatula cooking kitchen mason jar boxwood wreath

porcelain mason jars kitchen utensils wooden spoons engraved

I set them up on the stovetop along with my DIY EAT sign.

white porcelain mason jar vase kitchen utensils

The plastic and rubber turquoise utensils are all recent purchases -- clearance at Wal-Mart or T.J. Maxx. Colored utensil are all the rage right now. It's amazing how expensive they can be.

porcelain mason jars farmhouse kitchen wooden spoons spatulas

The colors are so in keeping with my love of white and turquoise! And you know how I love mason jars -- farmhouse staples -- in all forms. I got mine at World Market, but you can also get similar porcelain mason jars online as well. I found the marbelized lazy Susan, new with the tags still on it, at Goodwill -- but you can also find similar lazy Susans online.

engraved wooden spoon spatula cooking kitchen mason jar boxwood wreath turquoise tools

These three words are very apropo for my husband: He's a fabulous cook so -- YUM. He has never made a bland meal -- SPICY. And nine times out of ten the spices he uses are -- you guessed it -- HOT. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

wood burning engraving wooden spoon spatula kitchen cooking

What words would you put on YOUR spoons? Would you make a monogram? Or maybe some shapes? As difficult as it was, I do hope that you'll try it if you're interested in the project. If I can do it, you can, too!

Well, that's it until next time, friends!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my

DIY Engraved Farmhouse
Wooden Kitchen Utensils.

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