Silverware Crafts

Silverware that has been worn out can still be useful. I have made several types of silverware crafts over the years. One of them came from an idea I got after a neighbor burned their garage that was old and falling apart. A couple of days after the garage was burned, I helped clean up the mess, and found some old pieces of flatware that had been buried in the dirt inside the structure. A knife, two forks and two spoons had been run over so many times by the vehicles pulling in and out of the garage, that they were now as flat as could be. I threw them on the pile of trash we were going to dispose of, and turned my head back quickly toward the heap when they fell together with a twinkling, melodic sound.

I picked them off the heap again, and thought that surely I could make something out of the old pieces. The next morning I thought about the sweet sound they had made the day before as they were thrown together on the trash pile. After cutting a four inch width circle out of a plastic butter bowl lid, I cut five evenly divided notches around the edge of it. Then I tied five 12 inch lengths of fishing line to each of the pieces of silverware. I touched a small dot of strong glue to where the string was tied around the flatware so it would not slip off (allow the glue to dry for an hour or so). I then tied all five pieces of the other end of fishing line around a key ring that was tarnished from use. I hung the key ring on a nail protruding from the top edge of an outside kitchen window. Separating the strings, I placed each of them in one of the notches that I had evenly cut around the butter lid. The wonderful sound of the homemade, silverware wind chime tinkling in the slight breeze was worth the effort to save the old pieces.

I have also found some beautiful old tablespoon patterns at flea markets and thrift stores. Double over a 10 inch piece of 1/8 inch ribbon. At the center fold, tie it with a knot around the top of a tablespoon. Drop a spot of glue between where the ribbon and the spoon touch. Also, tie the top ends of the ribbon together in a knot. Make a small bow with another length of ribbon. Glue it to where the bowl side of the ribbon and spoon are tied together. Now glue fancy, vintage buttons or tiny artificial flower buds inside the bowl of the spoon. These make very pretty gifts for any occasion.