Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays (you probably can’t tell at all from the themed posts lately!) and because we don’t have a backyard space or live somewhere where it’s warm this time of year, it usually means a holiday that we’re being invited somewhere else, and hence an opportunity for a hostess gift.

I thought painted spoons in a pretty blue ombre color from white to royal blue would be perfect tied with a red bow. I like how the gift itself isn’t ‘holiday’, but the presentation certainly lends itself to the holiday with its festive colors. Because, really, we all could do with a little less American flag hand towels lying around…

Keep reading for instructions on how to make them…

Photography and styling by Liz Stanley. Assisted by Devon Cone.

1. Start with a set of wooden spoons, there’s a nice set of 5 for $7.60 from amazon right here

2. With masking tape, mark off where you want the paint to end. Make sure the edge is straight around the spoon so the paint line will be straight.

3.  Do the same for the other spoons in your set you want to paint

4. You only need one tube of royal blue paint and some white paint. I like using this set of Martha Stewart craft paint here

With a foam brush, pain even strokes of blue onto your first spoon. You’ll probably need 2 coats on each spoon. Now add a bit of white to your paint and paint the next spoon one shade lighter. Continue until all your spoons are painted and evenly distributed until you’re at pure white (no blue paint at all). Save a bit of each shade for a second coat so you won’t have to try and color match all over again.

TIP: Hand wash the spoons and the paint should last pretty long (which really, you should be hand washing your wooden kitchen utensils anyway although I’m always lazy with that sort of thing).