Not Your Grandmother's Silverware

Last week I told you about a real gem of a store: JUNK in Williamsburg that sells tons of great up-cycle items. On my last visit, I bought a boat load of old silverware:

Those are Junk's silverware bins. And let me tell you those were some DEEP bins. I decided it was my purpose in life to make these old, neglected utensils super cool and loved. It was... AWESOME. 

Are you all ready, are you ready get set, are you ready, get set, LET'S GO!

What you need:

1. Old silverware from JUNK

2. Paper to protect your floor (newspaper is a great option)

3. Silver polish from a local hardware store

4. Silver polish rag from a local hardware store

5. Enamel from Home Depot in the colors of your choosing (I got blue and yellow mostly because they were the only premixed colors and I was there on a Saturday and the line was forever)

6. Dish soap from my kitchen

7. A sponge from my kitchen

8. Duct tape from a local hardware store

Step 1: 

WASH the silverware. Wash it like its your job. Wash it like your life depends on it. These have been sitting in a nasty bin at a store full of junk and dust. Who knows who has touched or eaten off of these babies. HYGIENE IS IMPORTANT. I'm glad we are all on the same page. 

Step 2: 

Use the silver polish rag and silver polish to polish your silverware. I used the word silver and polish three times each in that last sentence. 

Anyways, this is TEDIOUS. But do it, and do it good. You will be happy later when your utensils are all shiny and shit. 

See my fresh beautiful rag and clean hand in the pic above. Well, check out the After pic:

Nasty right? At least it's on the rag and not the silverware.

Step 3:

Wash everything again. I can't be sure but I don't think silver polish is meant to be ingested. 

Step 4: 

Set up a drip dry station as I did above. Place a strip of duct tape between the legs of a piece of furniture. Make sure your floor is covered well with paper. Enamel is permanent. You don't want that on your floor because there goes your security deposit.

Also, LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES: make sure you are in a well-ventilated room that is preferably NOT your bedroom. Enamel has some serious FUMES. I may or may not have coughed myself to sleep. I honestly can't be sure. The fumes really got to my head and I don't remember most of the night. (That's not true. I made a point of leaving because I was afraid that would happen. When I got home it was 2am and I was drunk - that's why I don't remember how the fumes affected my sleep. But it couldn't have been healthy.)

Step 5: 

Dip the handle of your silverware into the can of enamel.

Step 6: 

Hold the dipped silverware over the paint for a little while to save the majority of the excess enamel on the handle. 

Step 7:

Place the piece of silverware onto the duct tape to let the rest of the excess enamel drip off.

Step 8:

Let the silverware dry there for at least 24 hours. Once they are completely dry, take them off, and wash again. Don't use silverware that has been covered in duct tape for 24 hours without washing. That can't be good for anyone.

My silverware looks AWESOME!

I suppose this would be a particularly superb set for a Michigan fan. Blue and Gold. Anyone? ANYONE? 

YOU GUYS. I made a football reference. That's a BIG deal. 

And you know what, if yours didn't come out as gorgeous as mine, I'd be happy to make some for you. Not the worst thing, cause at least you made a Jackson-Pollack-like piece of art!

Lola loves Jackson Pollack.

"Can I put my new awesome silverware into the dishwasher? Cause I'm a fancy pants person and I have one of those," you say. Well, you know, that's a good question. I didn't know the answer. But then I googled it for you and it seems like it shouldn't be a problem. I don't have these issues cause my shit apartment doesn't come with a dishwasher. I would recommend trying one piece and seeing how it holds up. Then let me know so that I can be a better craft genius than I already am. COOL.