How to Create a Beautiful & Budget-Friendly Spring Home Decor DIY Project

You are going to LOVE this spring-inspired DIY project! It’s the perfect way to add a pop of color while complementing farmhouse-style home décor. This easy technique blends beautifully with warm wood tones and brings a fresh, handmade touch to your space.

IOD (Iron Orchid Designs) Paint Inlays are a decorative technique used in furniture and home décor refinishing. Unlike transfers or decoupage, Paint Inlays are actual paint that embeds into the surface of your project rather than sitting on top. They create a beautifully hand-painted, vintage look with a slightly distressed, authentic finish.

How They Work:

1. Apply a Paint Layer – Use a chalk or mineral-based paint as the base (must be wet when applying the inlay).
2. Lay Down the Inlay – Place the inlay face down into the wet paint and gently press it in.
3. Let It Dry – As the paint dries, it absorbs the design from the inlay sheet.
4. Mist & Remove the Paper – Once dry, lightly mist the paper and peel it off to reveal the transferred paint design.
5. Seal It – Protect the inlay with a topcoat like wax or polyurethane.

Each sheet can often be used 2-3 times, with the design becoming more faded and distressed with each use. They’re great for furniture makeovers, wall art, and DIY projects that need a unique, hand-painted touch.

Items Needed: 

• Wooden Spoons
• STAALMEESTER Fitched Angeled Brush*
• Dixie Belle Chalk Paint – Cotton*
• IOD Paint Inlay – Lattice Rose*
• Dixie Belle Chalk Paint – Vintage Duck Egg*
• Wet Wipe

*Product can be purchased directly through my website [www.juliesdesignsandsigns.com]

If you haven’t used Paint Inlays before—buckle up! This is the perfect spring DIY project to try for your first time.

First, I gathered a bunch of wooden spoons from my stash…

Then I grabbed the IOD Paint Inlay collection Lattice Rose—its gorgeous patterns and delicate floral designs were perfect for this project.

Next, I used scissors to cut out a few small floral pieces from the inlay.

Chalk paint works best with Paint Inlays, so I chose Dixie Belle Chalk Paint in the color Cotton for a crisp, clean look.

Using a STAALMEESTER Fitched Angeled Brush, I painted the middle of the spoons with chalk paint. One thick coat is all you need!

Step 1: Use a Fusion Misting Spray Bottle to lightly mist the chalk paint, keeping it wet for the Paint Inlay application.

Step 2: Lay your IOD Paint Inlay paint-side down (the brighter side) onto the wet paint.

Step 3: Using your fingers, gently tap the Paint Inlay into the Dixie Belle Chalk Paint, ensuring full contact for a proper transfer.

Step 4: Let the Paint Inlays dry completely.

Step 5: Lightly mist the Paint Inlays one more time using your Fusion Misting Spray Bottle.

Step 6: Slowly peel off the backing to reveal your gorgeous floral design, now beautifully embedded into the paint on the wooden spoon.

How cool is that? These turned out even better than I expected!

One of the coolest things about Paint Inlays is that you can reuse them multiple times! For this project, I decided to switch things up by using another paint color as the base on my spoons. In addition to white, I added a beautiful Vintage Duck Egg Blue!

Just like before, I applied one thick coat of Dixie Belle Vintage Duck Egg paint to the center of the spoon.

I followed the same steps as before: wetting the paint, applying the Paint Inlays, misting the paint again, and then carefully removing the backing. Each time you reuse a Paint Inlay, the color fades a little, but I love this effect! It gives the design a beautifully distressed, vintage look—exactly what I was hoping to achieve.

As you can see below, I continued creating a few more with the white paint as well!

You can also use a wet wipe to gently clean the edges of your spoons if any paint smeared. But honestly, it’s okay if it’s not perfect! That’s the beauty of DIY vintage projects—the distressed and rustic finish gives each piece its own unique charm!

And that’s it! Are you ready to create your own?? You can buy Paint Inlays on my website HERE!

This blog is all about a Spring Home Decor with Thrifted Wooden Spoons

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