Bring Hawaii To Your Backyard With This Simple Pool Noodle Bamboo DIY

Whether you're throwing a tropical themed birthday party, a luau, or are simply decorating for the end of summer, you can make your yard feel like a resort with this stunning DIY. A few pool noodles and some paint are all you need to make cute bamboo sticks to decorate your outdoor space. For more sophisticated and realistic looking bamboo, try using a heat gun to change the shape of the foam noodle.

This project is super customizable, as you can decide the size and color of your bamboo decorations. You may choose to make a gorgeous green bamboo stick with faux greenery poking out of the top, making it look fresh and like it's growing. Alternatively, your pool noodle bamboo decor could be painted brown or yellow tones to make it appear dried. Since pool noodles and some paints can be found at Dollar Tree, where many items are just $1.25, your homemade decorations shouldn't cost much to make. Spray paint or outdoor paints may be used instead, if you prefer, and you could even utilize leftovers from other crafts. With this simple and fun DIY, you can transform your backyard into a party space on a budget and create cute, Hawaiian-inspired decor to use any time.

Start by gathering as many pool noodles as you want for your dried bamboo. They can be any color, since you will be painting all of the foam anyway. With a box cutter, make evenly spaced cuts around your noodle wherever you want the joints of the bamboo stick to be. Now, use a heat gun to carefully melt these areas, warping the shape of the noodle. It should become thinner around the scoring, creating the joints. You may also apply heat to the rest of the noodle to make the foam skinner in some spots or knobbier around the joints to more closely mimic real bamboo. If you don't have a heat gun, a hair dryer should work, though it may take longer. Once the shape is perfect, you're ready to paint.

Apply a dark brown paint into and around the joints and on the ends of your bamboo sticks. With a tan or dark yellow color, go over the entire noodle except the ends, but only brush loosely over the joints, allowing the darker color to be prominent in the scoring. When this is dry, make streaks with a lighter brown color to add texture to your faux bamboo. Alternatively, you might use a green pool noodle and add green paint after the foam has been shaped for a fresher look. This pool noodle hack will bring sunny vacation vibes to your home and help you prepare your yard for themed parties.

For an easier version of this project without heat, change the appearance of a green pool noodle to make it look like a fresh stick of bamboo. To do this, you will need a shade of green paint that is darker than the color of the pool noodle. The tempera paint at Dollar Tree is a great budget-friendly option. With a sponge brush, apply a line of paint several inches down from the top of the noodle, then push the paint upwards toward the top of the foam around the entire noodle. Make another paint line approximately ½ inch below your first line and fan the paint out in the other direction. The lighter color ring in the center will make a joint in your bamboo decoration. Repeat this process, making evenly spaced joints throughout your noodle. More streaks of paint can be applied throughout the noodle to give your project more texture.

Make as many bamboo sticks as you please, and then begin decorating. You might put a Dollar Tree artificial spider bush in the top to add leaves, or consider cutting the noodles to various lengths to make your decoration more aesthetically interesting. To set up your bamboo decor, try placing them in a plant pot or tying them to the side of an outside structure, like a fence post or a column on your patio. Alternatively, stick wooden skewers into the bottom of each noodle and then insert them into your yard.