Repurposed Moonflower Wall Art

Judy Tosh
by Judy Tosh
7 Materials
Turn old ceiling fan blades into a unique work of art and fascinating home décor that looks like moonflowers opening up for the moonlight. Moonflowers are unique flowers that only bloom at night when the moon comes out.
Supplies
Gather your supplies: fan blades (2) (used short 11" blades), seashells, black & dark purple spray paint, yarn to make cording (Isaac Mizrahi – Juilliard yarn used), gold acrylic glitter paint, Aleene's Fast Grab glue, pearl stick on gems (optional)
Spray paint fan blades
Clean the fan blades to remove all the grime and dust. Pick the best side of the blades and using black paint, base coat with one or two coats - your preference. I used one coat which gave it a "smoky" effect. I didn't paint the back of the blades. Take the dark purple and very lightly spray around the outside edge of the blades to give it a "hint" of purple.
Add seashells
You can use either the top of the seashell or the underside for your flower. I took needle nose pliers and broke off the "tabs" that are on either side of the pointed edge of the shell ("tabs" can be seen in the supply photo above). I decided to use the underside of the seashells and I painted the outside edge of the shells with gold glitter acrylic paint to add some sparkle to them.
Moonflowers at night
Lay out the seashells how and where you want them and glue them down. Take the yarn and make cording by using a hand held drill or a hand held cake mixer. (You can find websites and YouTube videos on how to make custom cording.) Glue down the cording in a pattern of your choice. Since Moonflowers grow on vines, I did my cording in a vine pattern. Optional: I glued white pearl gemstones over the two holes on the sides and left the top hole for hanging (I used navy blue ribbon for hanging).
Additional Wall Art
Here's another set that I did using jute to make cording, used the top side of the seashells to make flowers, and left the blades white and distressed them. I used crushed up shells for the "dirt" and covered up the side holes with the white pearl gemstones.
Resources for this project:
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Frequently asked questions
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  • Jpsiskos Jpsiskos on May 26, 2018

    Sandy, I would love to see how to do the windmill with the fan blades - anyone??

  • Jpsiskos Jpsiskos on May 26, 2018

    Sandy, you mentioned a windmill from the fan blades. I would love to see a tutorial on that - anyone??? Thanks

  • Etta J. Deslauriers Etta J. Deslauriers on Jun 13, 2018

    After completing the flowers on the blades have u ever put them back up on the ceiling fan to use as normal?

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