Power Spoon by Edie

Last year one of my best friends (we will call her *N*) was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was having an extremely hard time understanding it for herself, much less explaining how she felt to other people. One night, while talking on the phone about an exceptionally emotional day she was having, I sent *N* a link to a YouTube video for Christine Miserandino’s Spoon Theory.

We sat on the phone as she watched the video and I could hear her crying even more on the other end. Even though *N* has Fibro and Christine has Lupus, the feelings and concept associated with The Spoon Theory are the same… limited Spoons.

Throughout the video *N* kept saying “Yes! That’s it!” and when it was over she felt like she had FINALLY found some understanding for herself a s well as a way to explain her illness to other people. I will never forget the relief in her voice and how she said she felt after watching that video.

Every since that night, *N* has had an affinity for spoons. She notices them in the most random places and has started collecting them for her home. Knowing this and knowing that she is a believer in the power of positive thought, I decided to make her a Power Spoon.

 

I have wanted to create a Power Spoon for MONTHS now and although I wanted to use a real spoon, I didn’t want to have to drill or sand a real spoon to alter it. Rather than pull out the power tools, I created this Power Spoon by pressing Creative Paperclay right over the top of a vintage spoon I had been saving for the project. I followed the line of the real spoon, pulling away excess clay as I went. I pressed my clay into the well of the spoon and smoothed the edges with water. Using a toothpick I poked a hole in the tip of the handle which would allow me to add embellishments to the finished project.





Once the Creative Paperclay was completely dry, I gently removed it from the real spoon and was able to work with it as normal. The handle of my Creative Paperclay spoon is thin, so I let my clay spoon rest on the real spoon as much as possible as I worked to ensure I didn’t break it by accident. I learned to make the handles thicker in the future :)

 

With out telling her why, I asked *N* to give me a list of colors that made her feel happy and energized. I painted the entire spoon with acrylic paints in three of those colors, then used the other two power colors for the embellishments.

 

Next, I printed out a list of empowering feelings I wanted *N* to feel while looking at her Power Spoon, colored the paper with Mustard Seed Distress Ink and attached them to the spoon using gel medium. I also added some bling to the handle and on the very end of the spoon, then painted the entire spoon with gel medium to give it some shine.

 

 Lastly, I added some really cool yarn though the hole for even more fun, but also to allow the Power Spoon to be hung. I wrote *N* a note explaining what the spoon represented and sent it in the mail as a surprise. She hasn’t gotten it yet, but I will be sure to let you know her reaction when she does get it I will be making more of these Power Spoons and I think I may even offer them for sale *squee!*




Since making this first Power Spoon, I have changed the process quite a bit, but you will have to wait until much later in the month to see that I love that these Power Spoons can be customized for each individual in every way and that it may give them that extra little boost they need when they are running low on spoons <3 You can see more of my work on my blog.