It rained the other day heavily, and a couple of the dried-up palm stalks fell into our garden. I was going to throw them away, but one of them reminded me of a sea fan for some reason, and I thought maybe I could make something out of it. I’ve seen a lot of sea fan art lately, mostly framed, and I really like it. It was a little too busy and three-dimensional, so I trimmed a lot until I got something that was more or less flat and a lot simpler looking.
- Cost Breakdown: $0
- Palm stalk – Free
- White paint & Brown paint – Free (leftover from when we painted the walls)
- Sponge Paintbrush – Free (already had it)
- Piece of wood – Free (leftover from another DIY project)
*If you don’t have access to a palm tree you could probably make this from a dried tree branch. Just look for one that has a lot of small branches.
I decided to whitewash it vs. just painting because I wanted the fan to look more natural and rustic. Like it had just washed up on the shore. I mixed equal parts water to paint and brushed it on with a small foam brush, wiping most of it away as I went. Some areas required two coats, but for the most part, one was enough.
I also wanted the base to look rustic, so I used the scrap piece of wood as-is (no sanding). I used it writing side up because I liked the look of it. I didn’t use water for this part. I just stirred the brown paint up and applied it with a foam brush. This part took so little paint that I literally used only what was on the paint stick. I also wiped the paint away as I went.
I like how it turned out even though my hubby says it doesn’t look anything like a sea fan, but I think it does. Plus what the heck, it was free!
