Repurpose Fan Blades to Dragonflies

#DIY #Repurpose fan blades to Dragonflies @savedbyloves

Since the first time I saw Lucy’s fan blade/table leg dragonflies, I have been dying to make my own.  Today, I will show you how I used ceiling fan blades and spindles for this fun, cheap, and easy to create upcycled decor project.

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Make #upcycled dragonflies from fan blades #tutorial @savedbyloves

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SUPPLIES:

Dragonflies8

Fan blades (I found some at Goodwill and Habitat Restore for just a few dollars)

Table leg or spindles for body (I found a box of these at Habitat Restore and snatched them up, knowing I would find a use for them)

Sandpaper

Lint free cloth

2 hinges per dragonfly

Hardware for eyes and antennae

Paint in colors desired for wings and body

DIY #upcycledDecor

  TUTORIAL:

How to repurpose fan blades

Lightly sand your fan blades and body (table leg, spindles or whatever you find).  Use a permanent marker to draw the shape you want on your wings.

 

Scroll Saw DIY project

Cut along line with scroll saw or jig saw.  Clamp 2 or more fan blades together to cut more than one wing at a time if you want them all exactly the same.

 

#Recycledcrafts, upcycle project idea

Wipe the debris and dust away from blades with damp cloth.  Let dry and apply coat of gesso or primer.

 

Martha Stewart Craft Paint project

After gesso dried, I painted Martha Stewart Craft Paint satin finish, color Carrot.

I painted haphazardly to let the gesso show through on purpose.  This dragonfly was going for a distressed look.

 

Color Box pigment ink

Using Color Box pigment ink, color sweet melon, I stamped over The Crafter’s Workshop Cosmic Bubbles template to create the design on the wings.

I went around the wing edges with the sweet melon ink pad and blended the stamped design into the edges with my finger.

I used my heat tool to dry the pigment ink, then sealed the wings with Mod Podge Clear acrylic sealer.

 

DIY upcycle crafts

I used Liquitex heavy body acrylic paint in raw umber for the base
coat on one body, dry brushing lime green acrylic paint and aqua acrylic paint randomly for  a distressed feel.   The other body was sprayed with Rustoleum in metallic silver.

 


Make #upcycled dragonflies from fan blades #tutorial @savedbyloves2

I used a hinge to join the wings to each other, and to the body.

 

Dragonflies4

Make #upcycled dragonflies from fan blades #tutorial @savedbyloves

 

 The eyes are drawer pulls on the orange dragonfly, and washers with screws on the blue one.  Leftover antenna strap from my hubby’s stash and craft wire were used for the antennae.

 

DIY #outdoordecor repurposed dragonflies


 Hang them inside or outside!

#Upcycle #repurpose

What do you think?  Do you have any fan blade repurpose ideas?

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