DIY Palm leaf Pumpkin

Featured by:
Design Dreams by Anne
and Heather at Setting for Four  
"It's Party Time Every Sunday"
  Thanks Anne and Heather


When I asked my neighbor if she would give me her dead palm leaf when she cut it off; she laughed at me and thought I was crazy when I told what I planned to do with it. Said she would not be cutting them until Spring ... so okay. In just a hour or two, she dropped the dead one and two green ones just starting to brown, over my back fence. Then the husband came home for the week-end and dropped three more over the fence. Had more, but I said I had enough. I have to let those dry out a little, but not to anxious to make more pumpkins right now.

Well let me tell you ... this was NOT the easiest thing that I have ever tried to make. Karah at The Space Between did a beautiful job of making one and I was so impressed and inspired. So original, I just had to make one because it looked so primitive in her decor and loved the LED lights in it. Check out her Blog ... she is one crafty lady.

I took the very dry leaf or frond and following her directions, I cut/ripped the leaf in long pieces and soaked them overnight. 
Next day, or day after ... took the pieces and bunched them together in no certain order and tied them tight at one end. Then taking the loose end, looped them, one by one to the bottom of the bunch and stapled them together. They were not all the same length, so some came out short.  Hard to get pictures when doing this.   Well, although very open looking and not well formed, I thought it looked okay ... but maybe like a UPS truck had run over it. 

 I used a stick from the yard for the stem and curled some slim parts of the leaf and hot glued them around the stem.
  
It is now in my little red wagon with LED white light and it looks pretty good in my Fall Mantel decoration. Anything looks good in my little red wagon.  Fall Mantel here.


The second and greener palm frond.  

After I made the first pumpkin ... I just knew there had to be a better way to shape the pumpkin.  
I would find a small limb that I could use for the stem ... cut the bottom off smooth and be able to staple the leaves to that when I looped them around.

 

I trimmed both the top and bottom of the leaves making them all the same length. These pieces were extra long. 

 

I placed the pieces neatly around the end of the stem, so when looped to the bottom, I would be able to form the pumpkin better. I zip-tied them to the bottom of the stem and just under the part that was to stick out above the pumpkin.  I ended up hot-gluing the leaves together at the bottom and when I had a good bunch, I would tack them to the wood with a upholstery tack. This worked until they got so thick the tack would not reach the wood, so just kept gluing.  

 

These leaves were still slightly green, so they were more pliable and easy to work with. I did soak them though. 

I thought I had bunched enough pieces, but when finished, it looked a little sparse, so I just hot-glued other pieces in and added curled pieces around the stem.

I wrapped the stick inside the pumpkin, 

but should have made it shorter.

 

This turned out to be a big pumpkin and will look nice in Fall decoration.

WOW ... are you tired now from all this work?

You gotta try it ... so original and so awesome for Fall.     

Don't they look pretty grouped together on hay with the colorful potato plant?

Heck. I may just make some more.

 Blessings.........
Audrey Z.

Linking to:  

Debbiedoo's Newbie Party with a Twist

 Alderberry Hill make the scene monday

 Its So Very Cheri
Cupcakes and Crinoline
Design Dreams By Anne
Setting For Four 

Three Mango Seeds