There they were…
looking all tarnished and neglected.
thinking no one cared anymore.
Two things happen when I see something that needs to be done in my home.
Either I get right to it and take care of business…OR
I overlook it thinking I will get to that task another day…it is not high on my priority list.
My dear readers the time had come for action on these hand stamped, tarnished silver spoons.
I could not overlook their tarnished images any longer.
I couldn’t believe I let this happen on my watch. 🙁
I had ordered the stamped spoons off of Etsy…a couple years ago and stuck them in a white enamel cup on my coffee bar….I loved the phrases that I had picked out.
I chose phrases I wanted on each spoon, which was unique and at the discretion of the stamping company…the style of spoon, that is.
One spoon was bent and the suggested use was as a book mark.
The phrase on it says:
Drink Tea Read Books Be Happy
And I love it.
Another spoon reads:
All I need is cocoa & warm socks
And my favorite one is:
The Secret Garden Bloomed and bloomed
Sigh!
But recently, my adorable spoons had become like the red headed step-children.
Yes, I know I have red hair. 🙂
My little nooks and crannies on my silver spoons were looking like someone played in the dirt with them and forgot to clean them up.
Actually, they looked worse as the ugly, stain of tarnish had taken it’s toll.
So, what to do?
I knew I didn’t want to spend a few hours polishing the silver, so to speak…
And for some reason, Martha Stewart popped into my thoughts.
I had tucked (somewhere in the recesses of my brain) a bit of information she had written in one of her Martha Stewart Living magazines.
Confession time: I have so many old, old magazines full of recipes, how-to’s and other frivolous or non-frivolous information in stacks and in binders.
It is an addiction, I am afraid.
Much like my cookbooks, which I read like novels.
But I digress.
I remembered a simple solution to tarnished silver and I decided to give it a go.
Side-note: If the solution had been many steps, I most likely would not have remembered it, but because it called for baking soda and boiling water…I had this solution in the bag.
I used an aluminum disposable pan…(very important for obvious reasons), about 1 cup of baking soda and boiling water to cover my tarnished treasures.
The mixture bubbled and foamed as I added the boiling water to the baking soda coating the silver and I watched in amazement as the tobacco colored stains slowly faded to show bright shiny silver.
I left the spoons in the pan for about 10-15 minutes and as I removed the spoons, I dried them and then I wiped them with a silver polish and buffed them a bit to get in between the grooves.
If you have spoons that are not hand stamped with lettering as mine are…you should be done in a jiffy.
The baking soda and boiling water really loosens the tarnish but I still used a silver polish to remove bits and pieces…so I suggest you still use a polish, but trust me…you won’t be polishing all day.
However, It did take me a little while to get in the grooves, using a q-tip…but I was amazed at how beautiful the spoons sparkled and shined.
My spoons had all kinds of grooves, etc.
Simple and so easy.
Finally, I wiped them with a soft cloth and they are as good as new….I forgot to take a picture of the final polishing but you can see the difference in the pic below.
I was so glad as I did not want to spend all day polishing a few pieces of silver and everyone has baking soda and boiling water, don’t they.
Have a great and Blessed Day!
Lovely spoons Kari and a lovely reminder on how to keep them shiny.
A lovely way to use those silver spoons tucked away and never used.
I saw lovely bracelets made out of old silver spoons in Cuba plus fun curly ones made out of forks.
Hugs from across the pond xx
Thanks Ross, sometimes the simple things are the best aren’t they? The bracelets would have certainly been unique and fun. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs from across the pond.