Post #391542 by VampiressRN on Thu, Jul 3, 2008 9:33 PM

Convert your cheesy minimalistic ceiling fan

into a..........

TROPICAL BANANA PALM LEAF COOLER!!!

(I could shoot myself for not taking a picture of the fan I did in my old house...but it turned out great and was actually a selling point in my house.)

Here is what did...I purchased large silk Banana Palm Leaves and glued them onto my ceiling fan blades...some painting and whalaaa...instant tropical breeze. :)

REQUIREMENTS
~4 or 5 simple lightweight fan blades (off your ceiling fan)
~4 or 5 large (bigger than the fan blades) silk Banana Palm Leaves
~craft paint in various shades of green and purple
~Aleenes Tacky Glue
~Fabric Stiffener
~4 strips of heavy duty broadcloth-type fabric cut just slightly smaller than the shape of the leaves

PROCESS
Glue the fabric on the backside of the fan blades. Once that is totally dry, glue the backside of the leaves to the front of the fan blades and the fabric overhang from the back. Once all of that is dry...cover the back with several coats (dry between) of the stiffener. I used a botanical picture of a Banana Leaf and painted mine to match with the purple in the middle stem area and paint the back side green also. Once all of this is dry, I covered it all with the Aleene's Tacky Glue to give it a satiny finish. My fan housing & blade hardware was gold, which I didn't like, so I painted it a dark green to match some of the coloring in the leaves. Last thing...a fun fan pull and you are good to go. The blades are heavier so you can't place the speed on high, but the medium setting works out fine and gives you a good breeze.

FATIMA BLUSH: Oh, how reckless of me. I made you all wet.
JAMES BOND: Yes, but my martini is still dry.

[ Edited by: VampiressRN 2008-07-03 21:38 ]