15 Genius Ways To Repurpose A Wooden Spatula Outside Of Cooking

How long wooden spoons should last in your kitchen depends on a bunch of factors, including how well you take care of the wood. However, these items will not last forever. Once they're too worn out to use for cooking, don't just toss them. If you're creative, you can turn old wooden spatulas into countless items, including photo frames, old fashioned puppets, bird feeder perches, or utensil holders. Artistic? Use the spatula as a canvas for your painting, decoupage, or wood burning skills. It also, weirdly, makes a handy tool for tucking bed linens into tight-fitting bed frames.

Wooden spatulas are worth upcycling, even old ones, because they're made to last. They're typically crafted from solid hardwoods. If you're dealing with an heirloom spatula passed down to you from your grandmother or mom, there's even more incentive to save the utensil. Maybe you can't use it for cooking anymore, but there are all kinds of other DIYs you can tackle to keep the memories it holds in your life. 

If you don't already have a wooden spatula on hand, you'll find them in abundance at your local thrift store or you could put in a request with your local Buy Nothing group. Just remember to disinfect wooden kitchen utensils properly before using them in projects. Of course, most of these ideas work just as well with new spatulas as with old, so don't worry if you don't have used kitchenware to work with. You could purchase something like the two-piece set of uncoated 13-inch Hefild Beech Wood Spatulas for under $10.

Few people keep gift tags after ripping them from the wrapping. By repurposing the top of a wooden spatula, you can craft artwork that your recipient is bound to keep or re-gift (in a good way). Drill a hole where the head and handle of the wooden spatula join, then saw off the head just above the hole. Paint the head any color of your choice and stencil on a sweet message and pretty graphics in a contrasting hue. Once dry, thread a tie through the hole to attach the tag to your gift.

Follow these simple steps to create a utensil tree. First, cut the top off a plastic bottle, about an inch down from the cap. Then, cut a hole in the cap that's just large enough to push the handle of a wooden spatula through. Use hot glue to attach the bottle top and spatula combo to a square of sturdy cardboard. This becomes the base of your utensil tree. Glue popsicle stick branches onto alternating sides of the spatula's handle, angled upwards to form hooks. Paint the finished holder in a hue of your choice, and it's ready to hold all your items.

Plain wooden boards, even chopping boards, are a go-to wall art backdrop. To make them into artwork for your home, paint and stencil them with imagery and phrases and glue on a decorated spatula or two. Alternatively, hang decorated spatulas on the wall in groups. Cross them at the handles with a ribbon tied in a big bow or paint them, thread twine through the holes in the handles, and hang them from a decorative branch. Another easy yet contemporary idea is to thread the handles of assorted wooden spatulas through holes drilled into a vertical timber beam.

Don't want to hang the decorated spatulas on your walls? You can also transform wooden spatulas into off-wall decor, like this cute bee-themed table centerpiece. Paint one spoon in black and yellow stripes; the spatula's head becomes the bee, replete with antennae and cardboard and lace wings. Wrap a second spatula in natural twine to mimic a beehive and paint on a round entrance in black. Tie the spatulas together at their handles and display them standing up or place them in a terracotta plant pot or vase.

Here's how to create a wall-mounted rack out of a wooden spatula: place your spatula over thick cardboard and trace the handle. Cut that portion out of the cardboard and hot glue it onto the handle. Disguise the edges of the cardboard by gluing on strips of decorative paper. Gently hammer five or so small nails into the cardboard and wooden spatula handle and glue them into place; space the nails evenly. Paint the entire piece in your preferred hue. Once dry, affix it to your wall using Command strips or screws, then hang small items from the hooks.

New to decoupage? Decorating wooden kitchen utensils is considered a beginner-level project that can help you refine your skills. After all, you only have to decorate a small surface, and you don't have to stress about ruining an old spatula like you would, say, a jewelry box or vase. To begin, lightly sand the spatula, then brush on some Mod Podge or similar craft glue. Starting at the head, apply pieces of your favorite patterned tissue paper, like the Flonz Assorted Florals 24-sheet Decoupage Paper Pack for about $12. Add embellishments, like twine or ribbon for hanging, to finish the project.

This repurposing idea is a little left of field, but it's a clever use for a wooden spatula nonetheless. Do you struggle to tuck your bedsheets into that ultra-tight gap between your bed frame and the mattress? No matter what technique you try, you probably come away with pinched or crushed fingers. Fortunately, there's a simple solution, and all you need is a wooden spatula. With your linens overhanging the bed, simply push the flat end of the spatula deep into the gap between the mattress and the frame, tucking the sheet or blanket in with it.

To display special spatulas together, mount the old spatulas to a picture board as you retire them and make your collection into a piece of artwork. You could also place them in a shadow box. Alternatively, turn the spatulas into the four sides of a picture frame. Cut a square of cardboard and cover it with gift paper or fabric or leave it plain. Lay four wooden spatulas around the edges of the card, each facing a different direction. Finally, hot glue the spoons together where they meet and embellish the frame with ribbons, paint, beads, jewels, and more.

Here's one for the kiddos that are tired of all those fancy store-bought toys. Puppets made out of wooden spatulas offer endless hours of imaginative play. Plus, you can turn the utensil into any character you wish, from ballerinas and bats to pirates, famous artists, or just regular people in your family. Though these puppets are often made with wooden spoons (the heads are rounder, after all), there's no reason this wouldn't work with a spatula. Ideally, choose one with a flat rather than tapered top, or get creative with covering up that angled point.

You can also burn your wooden spatulas, but we don't mean throwing them in the fire — though that's technically a pretty easy way to repurpose them. We're talking about transforming your spatulas into artwork through the age-old practice of wood burning. You'll first need to get your hands on a wood burning tool like the Creative Versa Tool with 11 points by Walnut Hollow, which sells for just over $25. Stencil, transfer, or draw on your designs, then burn them into the wood. This is ideal if you have heirloom wooden spatulas you want to pass onto younger family members for birthdays, weddings, or other special life events.

If you often lose your keys, turn an old wooden spatula into a key holder. You'll need to get some small screw hooks like the IDEALSV 60-pack of half-inch Brass Cup Hooks, which goes for a little over $6. Use however many your spatula handle can fit with 1 to 2 inches of space between them. Taking inspiration from earlier upcycles, paint the entire spatula and, once dry, drill holes at regular intervals and screw in the hooks facing up away from the head. Finally, hang it near your front door for all your keys.

Wooden spatulas work as perfect perches on DIY bird feeders. To begin, cut a horizontal slot in one side of a square plastic lidded container that's big enough for a spatula handle. Make a larger one on the other side to fit the spatula head and an extra half to one inch of space above it. Repeat on the opposite side of the container, a few inches up. Tape the edges of the holes with duct tape, then thread your spatulas through. Thread string through a hole in the lid, fill the container with bird seed, and hang it in a tree in your yard.

Looking for a creative way to repurpose wooden spoons in your garden? Making plant markers out of wooden spatulas couldn't be easier, and there are endless ways to decorate them. The spatula head becomes the label. To keep the project as simple as possible, just draw the name of whatever plants you wish to identify with a marker. Of course, you can make your labels unique to your garden by painting them with non-toxic paint (you want to protect the soil), print out labels with your Cricut, or use rubber stamps and ink.

Once again, we're making use of the fact that spatulas sort of resemble a person. The utensil's head can resemble any festive character you desire, be it Santa Claus or a snowman for Christmas or ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and monsters for Halloween. Decorate a mason jar with the head and wings of a turkey, then pop in a fan of spatulas painted with feathers to create a tail for Thanksgiving. Decoupage spatulas with red, white, and blue themed napkins and prop them up in a farmhouse-style jug to create a patriotic centerpiece for your Fourth of July table. The possibilities are endless.

To create a wind chime with your old wooden spatulas, you'll first need something to hang them from, like a rolling pin fitted with a row of screw eyes or a wooden needlework hoop — really any kind of timber ring with holes punched into it will work. If your spatulas don't have holes in the handle, drill those now, then paint everything in the hues of your choice using weatherproof paint. String the spatulas onto the hanger at different heights. You can also hang beads or glass crystals between the spatulas to add a bit of sparkle.