Today’s post celebrates #SundaeSundays, and is sponsored by Hershey’s Syrup.
I think I speak for everyone when I say, I LOVE WEEKENDS. Even though I work from home now, weekdays are work days. It’s errands, writing, cleaning – you know the drill! But on weekends, we all come together and finally get a chance to relax a little. Sundays have always been my favorite: it’s a slow day with the most family time. Now that the weather is heating up, we’re instituting #SundaeSunday in the Surian house!
I love ice cream – my first real job was in an ice cream parlor. Not only did I learn how to make all the classic sundaes, floats, shakes and coolers, but I also gained an appreciation for how we as people connect over ice cream. Think it sounds silly? It’s really not! Families celebrate good grades, vacation days, and team wins over ice cream. Couples (and families) have date nights over ice cream. I have a lot of great memories over great sundaes!
Yesterday was a hot one, so we had our first #SundaeSunday celebration! With 2 young kids, I layered ice cream, fruit toppings, and Hershey’s Syrup in glasses, to control the mess a little. And since tall glasses of course require tall spoons, I stamped up a personalized set of ice cream spoons, just for our new family tradition.
Each one has “Sundae Sunday” stamped in the bowl of the spoon, and each of our names stamped on the handles. It seemed a fitting way to make it special.
I’ll give you a quick how-to for stamping your own set of spoons for your family’s #SundaeSundays! If you read here often, you know I LOVE metal stamping, so this is something I was really happy to make for my kids (and us kids at heart).
- Steel bench block and 1 lb. hammer
- Premium letter stamps, designed for stamping on stainless steel
- Teaspoons (I used long-handled iced tea spoons)
- Masking tape or stamping tape
- Optional: non-toxic permanent marker and polishing pads
A quick note about the type of stamps you use – I bought inexpensive stainless steel spoons ($5 for a set of 6) and premium hardened stamps. Because I stamp a lot, it’s well worth the investment in premium stamps, and I’ve made garden markers, teacher gifts, and other stamped flatware gifts with this hardened set. Another option is to buy more economical stamps (that aren’t hardened for steel) and buy softer spoons made of silver. If you’re the “vintage” type, or if you are a flea market shopper, you don’t have to buy the premium stamps, but if you do, then you can pick up spoons even at the dollar store for stamping.
To stamp the bowl, you will need to be able to rotate the spoon around, so that it contacts the steel block directly under each stamp. I rig it up with a few strips of tape to support it in the position I need when striking each stamp. Steel is hard; even with the steel-rated stamps, you’ll need to give each stamp one firm strike. I have laid out a line of tape, and marked where I’ll be placing each letter.
Stamping the bowl is optional, of course. I’m comfortable stamping it, and using a non-toxic marker to darken the impressions, because the amount of ink is so trace. But the handle is a great place to put your family’s names or a short message, and it’s easy to do!
To darken the impressions, color into each of the grooves with a permanent marker. Then, use a polishing pad to buff the surface, which will remove any excess ink, while leaving it in the impressions.
And, once everyone had their own special spoon, it was time to make up some sundaes! The hot #HersheysSummer weather that’s just settling in made it a fabulous (if somewhat messy) treat. I layered them parfait-style, with a bit of Hershey’s Syrup in caramel, strawberry, or chocolate flavors between half scoops of ice cream, and fresh fruit. You can of course set up a little sundae bar, and make the sundae building an activity of its own – but my kids are young enough, they’d be half-melted by the time they finished making them. :)
Just top them off with whipped cream, add each family member’s spoon, and enjoy your #SundaeSundays! If you want to check out more inspiration using Hershey’s Syrup – including crafts and recipes – visit CelebrateWithHersheys.com.
Compensation was provided by The Hershey Company via MomTrends. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions of The Hershey Company or Momtrends.
Hi, Adrian…when you say premium stamping set, is the one you used Impress Arts or is it a different one? How do you know if it’s a premium set or not, the price? lol….
It is the ImpressArt Premium stamps. I imagine there are other brands, but I have not tried any others. “Premium” with ImpressArt means they’re lifetime guaranteed and are specially hardened to stamp steel. If you try to stamp steel with an ecomomy set, after a few strikes your stamps will flatten out because the metal is just too hard.
You can use regular stamps on soft spoons (like actual silver spoons). But if you do a large quantity, like I’ve stamped about 2 dozen spoons, then the spoons can get expensive Buying the nicer stamp set means you can stamp on and practice on inexpensive spoons. Most spoons you’ll find are made of steel these days.
You can find the premium stamps here: http://amzn.to/1Gm6ykU
hello, you are a source of inspiration!!!.i made an order on goodybeads for the Stamping hammer and
3mm Uppercase ImpressArt Basic Newsprint Metal Letters Stamping Set.. ill start small, but reading your posts it really makes me want to do many things. the spoons are a really great idea for gifts. can you please tell me where you found non-toxic marker?
thank you again!!!
ramona
Just read what your permanent marker says. Sharpie markers say they are non-toxic, though I do want to highlight a point that I only touched on briefly – I’m not endorsing them as food-safe. It’s just SUCH a tiny amount of ink left in the impressions, and it stays on even through washes through the dishwasher that I’m comfortable that nobody is getting a mouthful of ink. It’s different than, say, writing on the outside of a mug, because a whole line of ink on a place where you put your mouth is a lot more than the trace amounts left inside these impressions.
So if you would feel comfortable drinking from a mug that’s been drawn on, then you should also feel comfortable darkening spoons. If you are not comfortable, then you may choose to exercise the same caution and just stamp the handles instead.
Hope this helps?