Some stuff I have been creating - Fan palm picture frames

Hey, thanks for checking out my thread!

I started to make some picture frames out of my palm tree. I made one for my tiki bar and a lot of people seemed to like them, so I started to make more. Since I have a fan palm in my backyard, I pretty much have everlasting stems and fronds to mess with for tiki decorations.

Disclaimer: I apologize in advance for taking up space in this forum. I am not artistic and everyone else has a lot more talent than me in here for creating tiki decorations and mugs. Please don't expect much from my thread. Only look if you are really bored. :)

So the one I made for my bar was to put my Tiki Ti menu into. I remade the one from my bar cause I thought I could do better, and I like it.

I started out by making little frames out of small strips of wood. Then I cut down and nailed the fan palm fronds onto the frame. I made 2 sizes, picture size and full page size. I made mine for a menu frame, but it could be used to frame anything.

I finished 5 of them, 2 picture size and 3 full page size. They are cool and dangerous like a pufferfish. I think they really have a cool and unique look to them.

The menu fits nicely in between the frame and the stems. You can then hang it from the frame easily.

Only cut myself once. So lots of thought, love, blood, some sweat and no tears went into the making of these.

I am not really looking to sell these, but I am going to be at the International Tiki Marketplace this Saturday. I am going to bring these with me. If you want one, just let me know. You can look out for me or send me a PM and I'll save one for you. They are kind of sharp, so it might not be the best for kids to have around, but they could be a nice addition to your tiki bar so please take one if you like them. If you don't know me, that is ok, I am happy to part with these with no strings attached. Just let me know and I will get you one. I really do want to get rid of these, so please do not hesitate to ask me for one.
I also make my own hot sauce. I will have a couple extra bottles at the ITMP, so let me know if you would like to try that as well.

If anyone else might want one that doesn't live in Southern California, let me know and we can try to work out a trade.

[ Edited by: lunavideogames 2013-01-14 18:41 ]

On 2013-01-14 18:31, lunavideogames wrote:

I think it a great idea, and I like 'em, especially this the color in this one!

I'd say that's very artistic LVG! Take what you've got and make it into art!

I've never seen that done before, the frames, the blood yes but not the frames. They are very cool, Wendy

I think they look great.

I love the thorns! They are hard to work with - even with gloves. I've seen frames where the thorns were stripped from the frong and used as trim in existing frames, also seen some weapons made out of them. Another trick is to soak the stripped thorns in water - they become flexible and can bent into shapes. Hope you do more.

You could probably nip just the tips off of the thorns, keep the look and make them a little more finger friendly.

I like them, they look like they're made out of sawfish bills. They're a cool beachcomber style.

4WD - Yeah I like the color on that one as well. I didn't let those sit in the sun as long, they are fresher. I am not sure if they will darken further on my wall with no light, but we will see. The darker color ones are the ones that were outside for months, 6 or more. It will be fun to experiment with the different ages of them to see what color shades I can make.

Mike / Wendy / Professor G - Thanks for the kind words! I am glad that people like them!

Alohastation - I might have to see what else I can do with these. Thanks for the tip about making them flexible with water. I'll have to try that out. I was thinking of using it as a trim in my bar, but I decided I might not want to get stabbed all the time.

Tikilongbeach - Thanks for the compliment! I know you are close to Don the Beachcomber. If you are making it out on Saturday for the ITMP, look for me and I will get you one if you have any use for it. I would be willing to bet I will be the only one there in a Robot Aloha Shirt. :)

These are super cool!!
Great job.

Cool, I do plan on being there on Saturday.
I'll bring some puncture resistant gloves from work so I can safely handle the picture frame. :wink:

Tikiskip - Thanks! I like all of your lamps. I'll have to get one for my bar someday. I really appreciate the praise from people who have been making tiki crafts for a long time. I'm not worthy... :)

Yes Lori - Better to be safe than to be scarred I always say! They aren't super dangerous, but it is good to be careful when handling them.

I wish I had one of these plants so much you could do with it.
On afixing the plant stem to the wood go here to the bottom of the page,
there is a way to hide those nails.
plus have you painted one of these yet? Like black stem and maybe white thorns.
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=40109&forum=18&start=45&74

Kool and sharp..
I give em 2 thumbs up (with band aids on)

I like! I'm alwaus looking for creative framing ideas. Yours is neat. Looking forward to your next experiment!

:)
Lori

Thanks Hang10 & LLT for your compliments!

Thanks TikiSkip for the advice. I was going to look for some smaller nails, but I used what I had on hand. I am sure as these progress I will find better ways of doing them and the painting idea would look really cool! We will see what I can come up with next. These things just keep growing!!!

It was funny cause when we bought our house only 2 1/2 years ago the palm was very small. I have been pruning it but I never water it. Being in San Diego we do not get much rain either, but it doesn't seem to need too much. It has more than doubled in size since we moved in. Seems like I need to cut off a few fronds every couple weeks. It grows crazy fast!

Definitely one of the most interesting frame jobs I've seen!