Shamrocks

Nothing screams St.Patricks Day more than the Shamrock.

(hello cute beaded shamrock in the $1 frame from Michaels)
this one was made from everything i had on hand--
i think it needs a stem though
gotta love leftovers for craft projects and a $1 frame from DI

I remember as a kid sitting in my yard and picking through a pile shamrocks looking for the elusive four leaf clover...and ya know what? I actually have not only found one, but two, four leaf clovers in my life time. Now does that mean I am twice as LUCKY? Probably not--I think it just means i am more persistent when i am on a quest to find something. If i can't find what i want, i find something else to make it work. That was what i had to do when making my wreath. I knew i wanted a four leaf clover--i thought it represented LUCK better--so off i went in search of some hearts that i could put together to make my wreath. Guess what? Styrofoam hearts were next to impossible to find before or after Valentines day, so i had to get creative.
I started out with a Styrofoam circle

and traced on some hearts till i got a shape that i liked.
I then took a handy dandy serrated knife to cut it out
(please don't tell the hubby that i used his Henkle to do this)
Then I used the part of the Styrofoam that i had cut off
to sand the edges and smooth them.
(It worked really well, but man did it make a mess)
Styrofoam dust is almost as bad as glitter--it sticks to everything and goes everywhere. If i ever do it again i think it will become an outside project. Then my OCD kicked in and i decided I needed to paint it (knowing that I probably wouldn't even see it when it was covered) but doesn't it look great?
Very Shamrock-ie I say...
Then much like i had done on my valentine wreath I cut out green felt to cover my Styrofoam with. I used a flower die that had a heart/shamrock like look when folded

(Originally i tri-folded the felt
but it made it too bulky so i went with a quarter fold instead)
I then started filling it in.
(This picture was when i was still tri-folding it--like i said it turned out too bulky this way)

not rocket science here. Just stick it with a pin and fill it in.

(notice the bus seat? yes, i was crafting on the job)

I actually ended up taking it apart and re-doing it because it too full the first time. That and the fact that it was sitting out and my husband was a bit aggressive with petting/fluffing my shamrock that he actually broke off one of the arms--thank goodness for glue.

I think it turned out pretty cute. I probably should have done a three leaf clover because aesthetically i think it would have looked better--but NOOOO--had to be a four leaf clover because it represented LUCK and i thought about how common a three leaf clovers are, almost weed like in some places, and then i read this little fact about good ol' St. Patty

Legend has it that the shamrock was used to represent the Holy Trinity by St. Patrick. By doing this he could show people how the church was connected. St. Patrick used this to symbolize how the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
can be separate, but also part of the same entity.

Knowing this now,
I LOVE three leaf clovers.
It helps me stop and remember where my LUCK comes from
and to be thankful for my blessings

and of course the aesthetics and all....