Handmade: Herb Garden Markers from Wooden Spoons

By Paris Wolfe, Blogmaster, The Herb Society of America

I’m on a creative tear. My dad calls it “the Wolfe family curse.”  We can’t stop making things.
For example, I still had Project #1 in the car … a tacky yellow bookshelf and buttercream chalk paint … when Project #2 took over.  And so, I bought barn red chalk paint and secondhand wooden spoons.

Project #2 was inspired by a display at The Nest, a retailer of shabby chic in Chardon, Ohio. The owner had brushed  different colors of made-in-the-USA Dixie Belle chalk paint onto similar spoons to show customers their true colors.

Eureka! The barn red spoon would make a perfect plant marker. Simply paint the bowl red and print the plant’s name with a white paint marker. Then, coat for durability.

Inexpensive and  easy. Who could resist? Not me!

I chose red for the contrast with green plants and the yellowish siding of my condo. I wanted something bold. You might want white or blue or …

Anyway, it didn’t take long before I crossed the Chardon Village Square buying old wooden spoons at White Barn secondhand store for 50 cents per. Then, I was scouring the county to upcycle more wooden spoons. I found them for 25 cents to $1. I also mail-ordered a dozen “made in China” spoons on Amazon.com for about $8.

While I had been testing the chalk paint for another project, I’d recommend buying cheaper craft paint or using outdoor paint. A simple fine-point, paint marker and well-practiced printing or cursive creates strong labels. You may want to test once on the back of a spoon to see if the paint pen bleeds or “splatters.” I was lucky with my first attempt.

Next, I used a non-yellowing, indoor/outdoor spray paint to clear coat the spoons and protect the labels from the elements. I sprayed the backs first. Let them dry, then turned over to coat the front.

At last, they were ready. I tied some with a ribbon to gift for the holidays. Others await spring.