Once upon a time, I was on one of my junkin’ journeys when I came across an amazing selection of vintage cameos. They were “new old stock”, meaning they had never been used and were begging to be used in a jewelry project.
I pawed through them for a long time, carefully picking out my favorite designs and the best representation of each.
In my mind, I was a greedy little child, grabbing them by the fistful. But in reality, I was well-behaved and selected four of them to come home with me.
You see, I had also recently found a basket full of vintage silverware while thrifting. It was silver-plated stuff, nothing worth much money.
But I just knew that the old spoons would likely pair up delightfully with the old cameos. I simply had to put my idea to the test.
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Making Jewelry with Old Spoons and Vintage Cameos
First things first, I bought a small anvil to use for flattening the old spoons.
To do so, I carefully wrapped the spoon portion with a soft cloth. Then, I used a dead-blow mallet to tap out the concave shape of the spoon.
The cloth prevented the spoon from getting too scratched up during the flattening process. And I was able to hold onto the handle as I flattened.
Here’s where I’m going with my idea for the vintage cameos, by the way.
But, I still had a few steps to take!
Next, I bent the handles back as far as I could. Since the metal was so soft, I was able to do this by hand.
Then, we go out our Dremel tool to finish off the spoon jewelry. Jon used the Dremel to cut off the remainder of each handle; then, he sanded down the rough edges.
After that, I hammered down the handle nub to create a closed-off ring to slide a chain through.
Lastly, it was time to attach the vintage cameos to the spoon pendants. Because the backs of the cameos were super smooth, I roughed them up a bit first.
Honestly, I took them outside and gently rubbed the flat backs against our sidewalk. That scratched up the smooth plastic exactly as I had hoped.
Spoon Jewelry with Vintage Cameos
Then, I used my favorite epoxy to glue the vintage cameos to my spoon jewelry. I held them in place until the epoxy set, and then I let them cure overnight. And that was it!
I just LOVE how they turned out. This spoon necklace is probably my favorite since the spoon tip is quite peculiar.
I actually met Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Ice Cream while wearing this and she commented on my necklace. In fact, she thinks that was an antique ice cream spoon! How cool is that?
And if you’re looking for my upcycle jewelry ideas, this collection might be just what you need for some DIY inspiration!
Craft on!
S
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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
I don’t wear much jewelry, but I love these! You could have easily sold them had you bought all I suspect. But how fun that it such an exclusive design for you alone.
Thanks Teri! I would have broken the bank had I bought them all…but it was tempting!
I’m in love these! The vintage cameos paired with the old spoons..so pretty and original!
As soon as I read spoon and cameo…I knew what was coming and was hooked! Excellent work!
They go perfectly together, don’t they???
these spoon cameo’s are fun and lovely! What a great idea to add the cameos to a flattened spoon! I don’t know how you restrained yourself from buying a couple handfuls so great job!
Well…I might be buying more this week on my next trip to Florida, LOL!
You’ve come up with such a creative idea for making a pendant out of a spoon! I always love seeing things repuposed in a totally different way!
I honestly love everything you do. You truly do deserve a medal for restraint leaving all of those incredible cameos behind! The Lady is my favorite one, I think, and not just because she’s singing an old Eric Carmen song… Beautiful job with these!
GIRL! You are so good to me- thank you! I just posted on your DG page…hoping to get my paws on a few more of these to make pendants for my Etsy shop. We shall see…!
I love your spoon cameo pendants! They’re gorgeous. What a great combo!
Thank you, Virginia! I’m hoping I can get a few more to make pendants for my Etsy shop!
So creative and beautiful. Great idea for holiday presents. Thanks for sharing at #theWeekendSocial. Hope to see you again Thursday 9:00 PM EST! Pinned!
Thank you!!
Great finds! I love how you brought them together and that they’re interchangeable. Thanks so much for sharing at the Make it Monday Party! Hope to see you again next week.
Thanks so much!
Great way to use several vintage pieces at once and how lucky to find all those beautiful cameos unused!! Thanks for linking it to the Craftastic Monday party at Sew Can Do!
Thank you, Cheryl!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful blog post with us at the #PureBlogLove recipe and DIY craft Link Party. I enjoyed dropping by and checking your blog post out and look forward to seeing you next week on Thursday at 8pm est- Sunday at midnight! Thanks again!
XoXo
Heidy L. McCallum
http://www.themccallumsshamrockpatch.com
These are sooooo cool! I love how you made them. Thank you for sharing at Think and Make Thursday this week! Hope to see you again on Thursday.
Thank you and will do!
Awesome jewelry! I make jewelry and sell it at craft fairs. I might try this.
Very Cute! Found you on Ginger Snap Crafts!
So glad you swung by- and I always appreciate comments!! Thanks so much.
Beautiful! I love how they turned out.
Thank you, Melissa!!
These necklaces turned out beautiful! So creative:)
They are madly gorgeous! Have never seen cameos paired with spoon pendants before – just perfect!
Thank you, Michelle!!
These are gorgeous. You totally should have grabbed more cameos! Thanks for linking up at Show Me Saturday. Hope to see you there again this week!
I’m *hoping* to get more…we shall see!!
Great idea to use the cameos on the spoons. Love the way they turned out. Thanks so much for sharing at VIParty.
These are so pretty and fantastic! Have a lovely day!! xo Holly
Thank you, Holly- you, too!
Sadie ~ they’re really cute! I love them! Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday, I’ll pin/share! Julia
Thank you, Julia!!
I forgot to mention – I REALLY want to flatten spoons with an Anvil!!! LOL! (but true!)
It is VERY satisfying if you’re angry!!! 😉
Those cameos are gorgeous!
Thank you, Nicole!! I’ll be making more for my Etsy shop soon. 🙂
Sarah – I’m featuring your cameos at Merry MOnday! See you tonight or tomorrow! xx Julia
THANK YOU!!! And I’ll be making those for my Etsy shop soon! 🙂
I would love to buy one!
I would have never in a million years thought of doing something like this! Thanks for sharing it at our party. I hope you will stop by the Found & Foraged Linky Party next week too! (Saturday @ 8PM CST) Hope to see you there http://www.thebigrevealblog.com! (Or, you can always visit through Laura’s blog or Kyla’s, too! We are just excited for your visit:))
^^^I agree with Grace!^^^ Awesome fun project! Pinned!
Thank you, Kyla!!
Thank you so much for being a part of our #PureBlogLove link parties in 2014 – We plan on seeing in the new year with a BANG this Thursday evening and hope that all our favorite bloggers will join us! No worries if you cannot make it that night, remember the party runs weekly, Thursday-Monday morning!!
Wow! I love these! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! These are gorgeous and unique!! I want one! 🙂 I’m featuring you this week at Friday Favorites. Thanks for linking up!
Awesome!! Thank you, Heather!
man can’t believe I forgot about these awesome cameo pendants! thanks for sharing them again at our creative challenge. Also, congrats! this post is my fav for this week so I hope you stop by on Friday!
Awesome, thanks!! I need to be reminded each month about your creative challenge- I don’t know why I can’t remember on my own, LOL!
Wow, Sarah! Stunning pieces of work! You chose the right cameos. It’s as though they belong together. Very creative!
Thank you so much for sharing with us Creative Craft Challenge and hope you’ll join us in June’s challenge too! Pinned to our group board. 🙂
Hi Sarah. Thanks for sharing your awesome project at the Creative Craft Challenge Party. Hope you will be joing us again in June for the next challenge.
Hi Sarah, I reached your blog via Flamingo Toes. I love your cameo pendants and your sense of humor (love those song lyrics). Thanks for the tutorial!!!
So glad you found me!!
I have had a set of 4 cameos forever. I could never seem to find an idea to use them that I liked until this one!!! So excited to try this! Totally hitting up the Goodwill later to check on some vintage spoons.
Thanks, Jana!
OMGOSH!!!! I LOVE THESE!!! And I just yesterday got some cameos from FMG that would be perrrrrrrfect for this! And I loooooooooooooooove to collect silver spoons and forks. Now I have something to use them for. Sweeeeeeeet!!!!!! Thank you!!!!
Thank you so much!!
So original and soo soo pretty. Where do you come up with all of this originality. If you take some vitamins for it, I want some too.
You are too kind- thank you!!! And trust me, I can always use creativity booster vitamins, too!
I can’t see any images on the vintage cameo and spoon pendant page. Did something happen?
I am so sorry about that, Lisa. A lot of photos on my oldest projects have gone corrupt (a file name/hosting issue) and I’m slowly working through those posts and replacing photos. I sincerely apologize for that!