Has there ever been a sight more synonymous with paradise than a palm tree? Living in the lush Los Angeles climate, I'm able to enjoy these green beauties every day, but the amazement at their natural grace has never faded!
Luckily, their wispy shape is fairly simple to recreate in paint — and better yet, you don't even need painting skills! Following in the path of the spoon painting, I made this DIY palm print mural using ... pool noodles!
But this technique isn't exclusive to walls! You can also create your tropical trees on a canvas, or even a duvet cover for some DIY bedding!
Watch the video above to see my stamping tips and technique, and check out the full list of supplies and steps below!
Prep It:
Pool noodles Box cutter Green paint (the type of paint you use will depend on where you're painting!) Mint paint (optional) Yellow paint (optional) Blue paint (optional) Wall paintbrush Paintbrush
Do It!:
- To make your pool noodles into palm frond stamps, cut them in half lengthwise with a box cutter. Then, cut that piece in half lengthwise again!
- Leave one noodle strip full length — this will be the center stalk of your palm print. Cut the remaining strips into shorter pieces in three sizes (ranging from about 3 feet to 18 inches), and use the box cutter to shape the ends into pointed tips.
- Paint the green paint onto the exterior rounded side of the longest noodle stamp. Stamp it onto the wall by placing it gently, then applying pressure down the length of the noodle.
- Repeat step 3 to stamp on a few more center stalks. You should re-paint your noodle each time you stamp! If you would like to smooth out the pixelated texture of the stamp, gently brush over the imprints with a paintbrush!
- Now to create the fronds! Working from the longest leaves up, paint and stamp the noodle pieces onto the wall with a few inches of space between each. You can leave these spaces blank or return and fill them in with complementary colors (which is what I did!)
- When you're done stamping with your base green color, you can fill in the extra fronds with colors like mint, blue, yellow, or a gradient of all of them!
- Let your paint dry and enjoy your palm-printed paradise!
