Pretty Palm Leaf Art Dupe

Brooke
by Brooke
7 Materials
$40
3 Hours
Medium

Do you like to flip through high end magazines just looking for something you can DIY and save yourself loads of money?! Yes? No? Just me? šŸ˜†


I have been eying these palm tree shadow boxs from Pottery Barn for a LONG time and finally got my hands on a palm leaf and successfully made my own for under $20.


*I had all materials on hand except for a can of white spray paint and the palm leaf :)

Step 1: Find yourself a palm leaf!! I found mine at Kirklandā€™s on clearance for $10!! Iā€™ve seen them at Homegoods, World Market and on Etsy. You can make your palm art whatever size you need. A set of smaller ones would be super cute too!

Step 2: Cut a piece of thin plywood or mdf to size. This will be the back piece of the art work. It needs to be bigger than your palm leaf. I used an mdf scrap that I had lying in my garage.


Step 3: Using some linen fabric, cover your back wood piece using a staple gun. Wrap it like a present and make sure to pull it nice and tight! Staple the backside.

Step 4: Attach the palm leaf to the fabric. I tried a few methodsā€¦I chose an inconspicuous spot in a crevice of the leaf and shot a 1/2ā€ brad nail in and that held well. That method did not always work though depending on where in the leaf I attempted to attach it. I tried the staple gun as well and had some success. In the end, since one spot was held in place well with the brad nail, the hot glue gun came to the rescue and secured the palm to the fabric covered back piece of the art work.

Step 5: Build your custom frame. I used pre-primed 1X2s to make a frame and cut the four pieces at 45 degree angles for a good fit and less noticeable seams. Just place the trim piece on your board, mark your length and cut!

Step 6: Assemble the frame with a brad nailer, fill the seams with wood glue, sand down and paint with some white spray paint.

Step 7: Attach the frame with brad nails to the actual back wood piece of the art work.


Step 8: Hang! For this, I used a French cleat which is two pieces of wood that are cut on 45 degree angles that fit together like a puzzle.

Here is the top cleat. Make sure it is level!

I ended up hanging mine on top of an existing horizontal trim piece so I didnā€™t have to install the other cleat to the wall. You could also buy a picture hanging kit or drill holds into the back wood piece where your screws in your wall would fit into. Lots of possibilities here!

It really helped give my light and bright master bathroom an extra coastal feel and added visual interest!


Follow me on IG @brooke.casa.del.sol to watch this project in the ā€œPalm Leaf Dupeā€ highlight and get more fun DIY tips and tricks!

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