I have always thought palm tree leaves are very elegant. They look as if they are dancing wearing a long dress.
Last weekend I went to Al Nahda Resort in Oman and saw a giant version of the palm tree.
I wanted to make something from those leaves to keep as a souvenir in my house.
Here, I will share with you the things that I made.
STEP 1
Get ten palm leaves. Wash and dry them. Use a pin to slice each into thin strips. The strips should be around 1mm wide.
STEP 2
Bunch them together between your hands and squeeze them a few times. Then coat them with one tablespoon of white glue and squeeze again. Give the bunch a round shape, which should be around 15cm in diameter.
STEP 3
Place the ball of palm leaves into a plastic bowl (you could use a small yoghurt cup) and then insert a smaller plastic glass into it, as shown.
Leave it to dry for around two hours and remove the plastic glass. You can take the ball out of the the plastic bowl the next day.
STEP 4
The ball has now taken the shape of a bird’s nest. You could spray it with golden-coloured paint. You can paint it white as well but the natural colour, green, suits best. You could even put some shiny sequins to decorate it.
Use it as a candle holder or put some dates in. You can also use it as a small basket.
STEP 5
Again, cut the leaves in the manner mentioned in Step I, put white glue and mix the leaves with your hand to give them the shape of a ball. Make several of them.
Put them on a plastic wrapping paper, dry them and spray them with with golden paint and perfume. They will keep the room smelling nice.
STEP 6
You can also make the palm leaves look like evergreen trees.
However, to make this piece, you may start off by slicing the palm leaves. But not all the way through.
STEP 7
Get one plastic pipe (2cm in diameter) or a dry branch, put all-purpose glue on it and stick the leaves one by one and wrap around with a strong thread.
Use a second thread to keep the leaves in place. The second line of leaves will cover the first line’s thread.
STEP 8
Colour them green and place in a nice vase.
— Gulsen Dikturk is a UAE-based art enthusiast
