An old fork or spade makes an interesting DIY marker for a garden. Updating them with new colors or patterns to fit your style is also easy. You can paint or stain them differently to make them stand out in your garden. They are great as standalone decorations or props for photo shoots with friends and family! Let’s get started.
Preparation Tools
- An old fork or spade – This can be any vintage fork or spade you find at a thrift store or flea market or have inherited from family members.
- Paint and brushes – You can paint your fork any color you want. It can be a solid color or have a pattern.
- Stain – Stain the fork for a darker finish. We will be using a walnut stain here.
- Sandpaper – This is used to smooth out the cut edges of the handle.
- Gloves
- An extra hook
Vintage Fork Garden Markers
Step 1: Decide on Your Pattern
You can paint or stain the fork in any pattern that you want. Perhaps you want to paint it a solid color, or you want to create a geometric pattern. You can do it on the fork or do some staining, mixing the stain with paint. There are a lot of patterns that are popular in decorating. You can do dots, stripes, stars, or geometric patterns. You can even paint or stain the tines of the fork if you want.
Step 2: Mark and Cut the Handle
If you are repainting the handle and want to cut off some of it, then you will have to mark the handle where you want to cut it. If you’re repainting the handle, you can use the old handle as a guide for marking where you want the new paint line. After you’re done painting, you can wipe off the paint from the old paint line so that you can see it.
Step 3: Paint or Stain the Fork
If you’re repainting the fork with a solid color, you can paint the fork without any additional prep work. If you are doing a patterned paint job, you must do some prep work before painting it. If you’re doing a patterned paint job, you must coat the fork with primer paint before you paint it. This will ensure that your paint is applied evenly over the entire fork and that the pattern is precise. You will also want to let the primer dry before painting the fork. If you’re doing a stain job on the fork, then you will want to apply some stain to a piece of cloth and wipe it down the fork to give it a consistent finish.
Step 4: Install a Hook for Hanging
If you want to hang your fork in your garden, you must install a hook into the handle. You can put it near the very top of the handle, as long as it doesn’t make it too heavy to be supported by the handle. You can use any metal on hand or buy a hook that can be easily installed. The best place to install the hook is inside the handle. This way, no one will see it, and the handle’s wood will support it.
Check out other project here.