Saturday, August 4, 2018

Palm Frond Tray DIY




I love visiting friends, Bob and Helen, in North Carolina! There's always something special to discover. This time it was palm fronds! Bob is very artistic and creative and stays busy creating decorative items. Just look how he transformed these palm fronds he found on walks around his neighborhood.






Aren't they fabulous! When I saw these, I couldn't imagine what Bob was talking about when he said they were from palm trees. Palm trees? I thought about coconuts, but not "palm fronds" - from around the trunk of the tree! He knows we don't have palm trees up north. At least none in an everyday outdoor setting. So as a crafter, I was completely smitten with the idea of upcycling fallen palm fronds into adorable pieces of decor. And I think Bob felt a bit sorry for me and presented me with one of his yard finds before we left! How sweet of him!

 Look how lovely this is!




I thought hard and long how I would transform my newly acquired craft piece. I even googled and looked on Pinterest to see what Palm Frond DIYS were out there. Not many! There were tons of pictures of wall hangings and decorative items and lots of painted fronds - some selling for hundreds of dollars. Can you imagine that? But not very many actual DIYs.

There were a few frond trays made with golf tee feet attached. My hubby had some golf tees that I considered using, but I couldn't imagine cutting them down to fit on the bottom - I just couldn't visualize it, even though I saw the pictures. Golf tees are quite tiny to begin with. I didn't see how they would work for me?  Besides, I had a different idea. 


I already had some succulent pattern napkins and I found a bag of small cone shape wood pieces at Michaels .  .  .


just perfect for the bottom area of the palm frond.


And it didn't take many items to complete the tray:
  • Printed Napkins
  • Matte Mod Podge
  • Wood Cone Shapes - 6Pk. 
  • Acrylic Paint/paint brush
  • DAP RapidFuse Adhesive
  • Faux Succulents
First, separate the layers of the napkin to use just the printed side. Because the napkin pattern was going in one direction, I tore it in half to apply separately. Then coat a generous amount of Mod Podge over the bottom portion of the frond, smoothing on the napkin over the Mod Podge.


Since the palm frond exterior is so hard apply additional Mod Podge over the top of the napkin and smooth out any wrinkles with your fingers.


Repeat the steps for adding the napkin to the bottom portion and let dry.


I'm loving this subtle look of print design!



    Next, paint the wooden cone shape pieces for the legs and let dry.  Once dry, try-out placement of legs for best location for tray and glue on using Dap RapidFuse Multi-Purpose Adhesive.


The palm frond tray is all set to display - perhaps as a centerpiece .  .  .


filled with lots of faux succulents!


Or any type of decorative display tray - there are so many possibilities! 
You decide!





Thanks for stopping by
and take a little time to enjoy,

Happy Crafting!



This post contains links to products, if you purchase something after clicking on my link I may earn a small commission to help with my craft expenses (at no extra cost to you).Thank you so much!

9 comments:

  1. Amazing tray. This was quite different and so creative.

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  2. I am absolutely in love with this! I MUST get my hands on some fronds. LOL! Outstanding. (talkofthetown)

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  3. OMW Gail, I love this sooo very much. We have these huge Queen palms in our garden and they are continually dropping their pods. And they're REALLY BIG. I always worry that one of our fur babies will get knocked over when they fall. It makes the most awful racket when they come down. I can't wait to use one to make something similar. It's beautiful

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  4. Gail I have never seen anything like this before. In fact I had no idea what a frond was till you showed us. You did a fantastic job of showing us how to create something truly unique for our homes.

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  5. Wow, what a beautiful and unique tray and love how you decoupaged the bottom side. You know how much I love your creativity but this is definitely one of my favorites! Hmmm, I wonder if there is a way I can sneak some palm fronds into my suitcase when we're in Mexico because there isn't a palm to be had in these parts 😉

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  6. I just love this! Thank you for sharing. :)

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  7. How gorgeous. Thank you for sharing at the Snickerdoodle Create Bake Make Party

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  8. Wow!!! This is gorgeous Gail and the napkin is perfect! I love succulents and it is a perfect idea for the faux ones to have them all time around!

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  9. that looks great! succulents are pretty much my favorite things, and even better when they're such good looking faux ones. i can't believe how strong/solid those fronds are!
    b

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