d.i.why not? palm husk centerpiece

I am excited to share today's DIY with you!  It is compliments of my friend Jimmy.  This is not the same Jimmy that provided the fab PVC pipe wine rack DIY of last year.  This Jimmy is just as awesome!  I met him years ago at  one of my favorite local flea markets (Melrose Trading Post, for those of you in LA).  He has a booth there most Sundays selling really groovy vintage finds at great prices.  He also has an etsy store selling some of his wares (including vintage window frames turned chalkboards).

So, Jimmy had one of these centerpieces on display in his booth and I loved the sculptural look of it.  It's a bowl, or a platter or an object d'art.  And when he explained what it was made from - palm tree husks!- I loved it even more!  And the groovy clean lines reminiscent of Mid Century Danish modern furniture and accessories are great!  Ahhh nature...

I know this DIY is sort of limited to only those of you in parts of the world where palm trees live but I still had to share it.  I love that even though I have yet to have my own yard or even square foot of land, let alone a tree, I can still create one of these.  Because every time there is a windstorm in town the streets of LA are littered with these palm tree husks!  So, now I just need to pull over and pick one up and get to work!

Here's all you need:

• palm tree husk
• sharp knife
• rough sponge
• sandpaper
• wood stain and brush

How to:

1.  Find a palm tree husk with the right shape - they are more abundant after gusty winds - for your needs.  A bowl shape is great for fruit or flatter shape for candles.
2.  Clean cut the ends
3.  Scrub/clean 
4.  Sand any rough edges
5.  Finish with stain or varnish of choice
6.  Let dry a couple of days, fill with fruit or candles or whatever and enjoy!

Obviously if you are using for fruit you want to stick to the kind that you peel rather than ingest the stain.  And if you are using for candles, don't leave those flames unattended.

Oh and Jimmy shared this photo of a new table he created for his backyard using a beautiful vintage French door for the top. Lovely! And of course now I have backyard envy.  This photo was taken before adding his tempered glass top to it. 

Big thank you to Jimmy for sharing this with me!  Go here to visit Jimmy's etsy store.  And if you don't want to make your own or can't find that perfect palm tree husk, you can buy one here.

For those of you just tuning in and wanting to know more about me you can by going here... and if you didn't already know... I created a facebook page... check it out and "like" it! and follow me on twitter and you can even follow my boards on pinterest too!

until next time...

the formerly almost 40 year old intern