Colour-dipped Wooden Spoons

Painting without brushes! This is a super easy gift to make, and the on-trend colour-dipping is sure to upgrade an ordinary wooden spoon from the utensil drawer to the bench-top for display! 

Things you will need

Wooden spoons or other uncoated wooden kitchen implements 2 spice jars or other jars which are tall and skinny (for your paint). Approximately 200ml of water-based acrylic paint in two colours of your choice (we used white and charcoal). Note: You will need more paint if your jars are a larger diameter than spice jars. Drying rack. Newspaper or old paper (to catch the drips).

What to do

Gather your materials and check a few things before you start: Make sure your spoon handle fits in the mouth of your jar. Stand your spoon in your jar and check you are happy with the amount of handle which will be covered in paint once the jar is full. Make sure your wooden spoons are clean, dry and free of any sticker residue. Cover your table or work surface with newspaper or old paper.

Set up your drying rack. You will need something which allows your spoons to hang without anything touching the paint while they dry. We used a wire cake cooler set on top of two large jars. Make this part of the fun with your child and work out the best drying rack solution from what you can find around your home.

Fill your jars with paint, one colour for each jar. The consistency of your paint is important – too runny and it won’t give a good even coat of colour, or too thick and it will glob and won’t dry properly. If your paint is too thick, thin it by adding water a little at a time.

Carefully dip the handle of your wooden spoon into the paint, keeping it as vertical as possible and ensuring it does not touch the sides of the jar. You can turn it around slowly in the jar to make sure the top line of paint is straight all the way around. Carefully remove your spoon and allow any drips to fall off the end.

Hang the spoon on your drying rack, again being careful not to touch the paint or scraping any onto your drying rack. Allow at least 12 hours for your spoon to dry. You can then re-dip your spoons if you want to add another layer of colour (like our charcoal and white combo).