DIY ‘Spooning Since’ Anniversary Gift

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The hubby and I have been together since April 2005. The 9th, to be exact. Which just happens to be National Unicorn Day. I looked it up. Most of the time, we don’t even remember the date. It’s an age thing. But this year is different. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it’s 20 years, which is a big one. Anyways, to celebrate, we made ourselves this ‘spooning since’ anniversary gift. 

Not only does it fit right in with our rustic boho décor style, but it helps us remember just how long we’ve been together.

The wooden spoon handles also have our names carved into them. Just in case we forget those too. 

So, if you’re looking for a unique wedding or anniversary gift that’ll add a splash of rustic charm to your décor, then you’ll love this easy tutorial.

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What you need

• Craft clay (air-dry or oven baked)
• Thick, straight branch
• Oblong garden pebble
• Toothpick
• Glue
• Raffia
• Drill
• Canvas or frame
• Texture paste (homemade recipe here)

How to make a ‘spooning since’ gift

The spoons in our ‘spooning since’ gift consist of two parts: a wooden handle and a clay bowl. We’ll start with the easiest bit, the handle.

Making the handle

One of our pompom trees was attacked by wood borers and, sadly, had to be cut down. We did manage to salvage some of her branches, and that’s what we used to make the spoon handles. Since the spoons are purely decorative, any straight wood will work. Hubby broke one end of the branch and cut the other end with a saw.

If you prefer a less jagged edge, you can cut both ends. Put the handles to one side while you make the spoon bowl.

Forming the spoon bowl

To make the bowl, I used air-dry clay. Oven-baked will work too. In fact, it’s probably easier to use the oven-baked one since it has a longer working time. Condition the clay between your fingers and roll it out.

If you want to minimize fingerprints, wear gloves. The rolled-out clay should be about ½ cm thick (1/4”).

Using a round or oblong pebble as a mold, trim the clay edges about a cm or ½” wider than the pebble.

Form the clay around the pebble to make a bowl.

Neaten the edges by dipping your finger in a little water.

Once you’re happy with the bowl, you can move to the next step: creating a spoon neck to attach the wooden handle to.

To save yourself from a major cleanup, wrap a little masking tape around the handle first.

Joining the bowl and the handle

We weren’t quite sure how to do this part. Attaching the handle directly to the bowl didn’t seem like a good idea. There’s not a big enough area for the handle to grip on unless we squish it into the bowl. And the bowls are too thin for that. The workaround we came up with was to make a clay neck. Roll a small ball of clay into a tube. It should be roughly the same thickness as the branch.

Score the one end of the clay tube with a toothpick. Do the same on one end of the bowl. Add a little water and gently press the neck to the bowl. Placing the pebble back in the bowl helps it maintain its shape while you’re squishing the neck on.

Smooth the join with a little water.

Drill a small hole up into the branch and insert a toothpick.

Trim the toothpick a little and insert the other end into the clay neck.

You should end up with something like this.

Slip the branch off the toothpick and allow the bowls to air dry or bake according to the instructions on the package.

Finishing off the spoons

Now’s the time to give your cured clay spoons their last finishing touches. Air-dry clay is porous and tends to show dirt and finger marks easily unless it’s sealed. You can use a clear polyurethane varnish or craft paint to prevent that from happening. 

Glue the handles to the spoons. Wood glue or instant glue will both work. Don’t forget to insert the toothpick. It helps strengthen the join.

To hide the join, wrap raffia or twine around the neck and handle.

Mounting the “spooning since” spoons

You can mount the spoons in a frame or a box canvas. We didn’t have a frame that was big enough, but I have loads of box canvases that I use for fairy crafts. To reinforce the canvas, I cut a piece of sturdy cardboard and glued it inside the back.

Paint or decorate the front of a canvas to suit your décor. I used some of our homemade texture paste mixed with garden soil to add interest to the canvas.

The spoons can be glued on or tacked on. We used a combination of the two. The wooden handles have been attached with a thumbtack.

And the clay bowls have been glued on.

Personalizing the spooning gift

We only thought about adding our names after mounting the spoons. A bit silly, I know. It would have been way easier to do it before the time. Anyhoos, besides stressing that we were going to mess everything up, it turned out okay.

I used a Dremel with a tiny wood-carving burr to carve out the names. You can paint them on too. 

For the “Spooning since April 2005” label at the bottom, I made a quick stencil with my Cricut Joy.  and added it onto a rough piece of clay. 

Don’t you just love that font? It’s called Pixie Ring.

The clay label has been glued on, and thumbtacks were added for effect.

This handmade gift is perfect for any romantic occasion, from Valentine’s Day to weddings.

Do you see that quirky little cactus in the bottom left corner?

She’s called a Mammillaria elongata f. cristata or Brains cactus for those of us who can’t pronounce big Latin words.  

It’s one of my favorite cacti in our highveld garden. I had to bring her inside because our new fur baby is at the “Eat.Everything.I.Can.Find” stage.

She’ll get over it soon (I hope!!). In the meantime, the Brains cactus can keep our rustic anniversary gift company for a bit. Over to you! Have you ever made something special to celebrate a milestone or simply to show how much you care? I’d love to hear about it-drop a comment below and share your ideas. I’m always on the lookout for new inspiration!

And don’t forget to pin the DIY ‘spooning since’ gift idea for later.

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Oh, and if you’re looking for some of the things we used, we’ve got you covered. Disclosure: Clicking on the links below means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us make more amazing crafts to share with you ;-)

Or, if you prefer to buy rather than DIY, perhaps these beauties will appeal.

And as always, wishing you a wonderful, crafty week filled with sprinklings of fairy dust and lots of laughter and love.  Thank you for popping in for a visit.