Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Coconut / Palm sepals décor... ;)

Coconut sepals have always fascinated me...From the time we were little & rolled baby coconuts beneath our feet lightly till the sepal came off as a bowl and were used to serve soup(ahem.. muddy water ;)) when we played guests...the removed coconut, with a stick poked through wound up as tender-coconuts being served... :D

I always thought that they would make amazing decorative pieces. But got to really using them only recently. Dried open sepals from a coconut can be varnished and stuck up in a vase. You could paint them too!
Palms trees have similar sepals - much larger - thatz what i have used here. Herez what i used them for - candle holders! :)Pick up the dried ones (u'll find a lot of these beneath coconut/palm trees) - clean with a dry brush/cloth and splash on some paint. I used enamel paint that you use on gates, windows etc - works out real cheap & has a glossy finish. For the bigger 'flowers', i used broader scented candles & tealight candles for the smaller ones. Works great for any festival or a cozy candle-light dinner too!... Reuse as many times as you like, changing colors if you need to match up your surroundings.
Need some change? Splash some color at the core, paste this 'flower' to a stick & pop it in a vase. I used the aerial roots of a Banyan tree to mount the 'flowers'. :)

5 comments:

nixx said...

Vow this is supper cool.....have you just placed candals in them or have you have clipped these shells together before painting....any ways it looks super super cool ;)

KayTee said...

Tnx!! ;) I just painted over n placed candles.. i use these individual pieces as candle holders, flowers in a vase or table-top decorations - whatever i feel like.. ;) :D
Herez how the raw material looks lyk.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jungle_mama/3419163677/

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Where can I purchase coconut sepals? Have been searching on line for 2 months. When I lived in Belize they were in good supply on our beach. Use in crafts, wreaths and dried flower arrangements for gifts. Now living in Sarasota FL and have searched local areas, no luck. Many thanks! Patrice Kelly

KayTee said...

I used sepals from a palm fruit. I picked them off the beach after they had dried. :)
I am really sorry that I am not able to help you with sourcing them. I am hoping that you have been able to locate them by now though! Horrible network connections have kept me away from my blog for really long! :(