NUTTY ABOUT NATURE

“Fond of Fronds”,  PALM TREES … part 3

Some of the poshest accessories for the home, and for you to wear, have a palm tree or two, or three…..or a dozen emblazoned on them. There is more leeway for creative expression on small items, so we see fabulous stylized palms on gift wrap, gold palms on iPhone cases, pink palms on china and turquoise palm cocktail stirrers. If you love palms, just go ahead and knock yourself out with palm tree everything !!

 

Why, you can even wear your palms. How cute would this hat be with your pink seersucker shorts (you DO have a pair, don’t you?) and a crisp white tee?

 

 

I can picture this adorable tank top with white denims, white espadrilles and a Palm Cottage Goods grosgrain ribbon belt custom made to match. Maybe a coral ribbon with navy piping or a navy and white stripe ribbon with coral piping….or….I better move on because once I start combining colors it is very hard to stop. #OCD

 

 

 

Wow, these very spiffy bathing trunks would match some custom stationery I made for a favorite client several years ago. Maybe said client would enjoy penning his notes by the pool while donning his palm frond suit. He does live in Maimi after all, so it’s not too absurd to ponder.

 

Speaking of pondering…..I am an avid crafter, quilter, knitter, printer etc. etc. so….. when I found a perfect palm tree design for a quilt, I already had it designed in my head. I’d like to make a small size quilt to casually throw over the back of my sofa. I’m adding sashing in duck egg blue between the squares and I think I’ll try to find as many green prints as I can so that each tree will have different color fronds. I’m sure it will be a work of art and its laissez-faire “this old thing” placement on the sofa will elicit lots of OOOOs and AAAAHs from my adoring fans.

 

 

OK, someone bring me back down to earth. The reality is that I may, in fact, eventually buy all the cotton fabrics (picking out the prints is 90% of the fun anyway) and they will neatly take their place in my quilting draw under the fabrics for the whale quilt, the basket quilt and about 6 other never-to-be-realized quilt projects……Sigh…..Maybe I’ll settle for this palm tree inspired quilt instead. It would look perfect in the living room and, best of all, it’s already made!

 

 

When it comes to entertaining, you can bet there is a plethora of palm tree accoutrements. From china and glassware to the actual food, whether it be made from palm trees such as heart of palm or made in the shape of palm trees like these adorable palm tree cookies, it is possible to add an island flair to your next soirée.

 

 

Should you decide to get classy with your frond friends, then by all means order some of these etched glasses to impress your guests.

 

 

One of my favorite ways of sharing Palm Trees is by sending a tiny notecard with a palm print. It’s my way of sending a subtle hint (I’m living in Florida….wearing shorts….it’s warm here…. you are getting frostbite shoveling snow) to my family and friends.  I assure you, my impetus behind this seemingly wicked display is my heartfelt wish that my dear ones will be goaded into paying me a visit. 

 

 

I also keep one of these jotter pads in my bag at all times and have given them as presents on several occasions. They take up very little room and are invaluable for shopping lists. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used my iPhone Notes to make a list, only to accidentally erase it  the moment I set foot in the store. Each time, as I reached for a baguette in the bakery or a fresh tomato from the produce department….boom, GONE 🙁  I did get a lot of  that-lady-is-crazy  stares as I hurricane hollered NOOOOOO !!!!!!  So frustrating. So, for me…..back to the “old-fashioned” hand-written word.

 

 

And here is the custom stationery I mentioned above. The client asked if I could recolor a palm tree (which mais, oui….of course I can). At his request, I also added his initials in a very soft blue and the results, if I do say so myself, were stunning!

 

 

Many countries have used the palm tree image on their postal stamps. I really like the vintage looking stamps the most, but I don’t think the U.S. Post Office would “deliver de letter, de sooner de better” with an Aitutakian or Ceylonese stamp in the upper right.

 

 

 

However, you can navigate over to Zazzle and create your own stamps.

 

 

I’ve pictured one design that they display on their website, but how great would it have been to use the image of the brown palm with the FW monogram as my client’s stamp. I didn’t think of it at the time, but you can bet I’ll remember to offer this idea in the future. P.S. I’m going to take my own advise and have some stamps made to match my own personal stationery. Cuteness overload!!

If you’d like to learn more about Palm Trees ….. how to grow them, conservation efforts, identifying the different varieties, please check out:

• Royal Botanic Gardens  at  Kew.org
• Florida-Palm-trees.com  (for tips on growing palm trees)
• Palmidentifier.com  (to identify different types of palm trees)

For more pictures, products and inspiration on Palm Trees, please check out Palm Cottage Goods on Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest and Nature At The Cottage on Tumblr. Drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you.

Yes, I’m nuts for Palm Trees and I hope that now, you are too !

Please join me again soon to learn about another fun and fab topic from our natural world.

Till next time….BB