I put together this pretty wreath to go over my St. Patrick's Day Mantel. I planned to keep this wreath super simple, on the idea of this wreath from Pinch a Little Save a Lot. However, I decided to switch it up a bit because I really liked the green satin ribbon I bought to cover the wreath and I wanted to keep it somewhat visible. I also used this opportunity to FINALLY learn how to make felt flowers. I can't believe this was my first time making flowers--now I'm hooked and plan to do a lot more for various spring projects.

This wreath took me about 2 1/2 hours to make, but that was mostly learning how to make the flowers. The wreath itself went pretty fast. Here's how I did it!

Materials and Supplies

• Wreath form
• Hot glue gun
• Green ribbon
• Foam clovers 
• Felt - white and several shades of green

How to Make This

1. Cover the wreath in ribbon.

I wrapped the ribbon around the wreath, with a slight overlap each time. I actually ran out of ribbon toward the end, but I was able to cover the gaps with the clovers and flowers.

2. Make felt flowers.

There are a lot of good flower tutorials online. I used tutorials from My Design Dump and Cherry Street Cottage - this one also has a great video tutorial.

3. Trace a circle.

I used three different size circles. I traced two plastic bowls and one glass rim to get my circles.

4. Cut out your circle.

5. Cut a spiral into your circle.

Start from the outside and work your way in.

6. Start twisting your circle. 

Start in the middle and roll your circle. Add some hot glue or fabric glue every couple of rolls.

7. Twist the fabric to add some interest.

After about 2/3-3/4 of the way, I started twisting the fabric. I thought it added a lot more interest to the flower than a straight-up rosette. There is a great tutorial on Cherry Street Cottage to show how to do this.

8. Glue a ribbon to the top of the wreath. 

I also added a ribbon to the side of my wreath to keep it hanging right, given that the weight is a little lopsided.

9. Lay out the clover on the wreath.

I picked up several packs of these foam clovers at the Dollar Tree. I decided to put my clovers on about 1/2 to 2/3 of the wreath, to keep the pretty green ribbon visible.

10. Glue the clovers to the wreath.

I used hot glue to do this and overlapped the clovers a bit.

11. Hot glue the rosettes to the wreath.

12. Hang the wreath and enjoy.

Link Parties

Click here to see the link parties I visit each week.

This is the first year I've ever decorated for St. Patrick's Day. Writing a craft and decorating blog= suddenly caring about St. Patrick's Day decorations. I have to admit that I enjoyed decorating and I like to think I found a non-tacky way to decorate for this holiday. Green is one of the main accent colors in our house, so that's a bonus!

What's On My Mantel

Above the Mantel

Left side

Center

Right side

Pitcher from Crate and Barrel outlet, Burlap and Clover picture, candle and candleholder.


What do you think? Have you put together a St. Patrick's Day mantel?

A Mantel a Month Links

February Valentines Day Mantel
January Mantel
Christmas mantel
Race-car birthday mantel 
Fall mantel

Link Parties

Click here to see the link parties I visit each week.

Paper, burlap, and jewelry wire? Three of my favorite crafting materials! I've been dying to do some more crafts with my leftover burlap fabric and this seemed like a great opportunity. This project also gave me the chance to use my heart hole punch, which I bought for the Valentine Day Heart Art. 

I whipped up this cute four leaf clover picture in about 20 minutes. Here's how I did it!

Materials and Supplies

- 5 x 7 Picture frame
- Heart hole punch
- Green cardstock
- Beige cardstock
- Burlap fabric
- Jewelry wire (24 gauge)
- Wire cutter
- Foam adhesive
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors (not shown)
- Pencil (not shown)
- Tape (not shown)

How to Make This

1. Cut your mat.

My picture frame didn't have a mat, so I used a piece of beige cardstock and cut it to size. One tip is to cut your mat a little small. The burlap added a bit of bulk to the mat and it was a little hard to put in the frame at the end.

2. Cut the burlap fabric about 1/4 to 1/2 inch larger than your mat.

3. Iron the burlap.

Mine was pretty wrinkled and I wanted it to be smooth.

4. Tape down the burlap to the back of the mat.

I decided to use tape to hold the burlap in place. You could also use glue.

5. Cut out your hearts using a heart hole punch, or cut them freehand.

6. Add your wire to the picture to make a stem.

At the top of the stem, I wove the wire into the burlap. I wrapped the wire under the bottom of the picture and taped it on the other side.

7. Add the hearts to make the clover.

I went with a four-leaf clover. A three-leaf one would also work. I used foam adhesive on each of the hearts to give the picture more depth. I also put a dab of hot glue in the center, so each of the points of the heart are held in place by it.

8. Make leaves using more wire.

I tried a few methods to make these leaves. I had the best luck with slipping the wire under the stem and weaving it into the burlap. Then I wrapped the wire around itself and made a loop on each side. I tucked the ends of each loop under the burlap to hold it in place.

9. Slip your picture into a frame and enjoy!

Link Parties

Click here to see the link parties I visit each week.

Valentine's Day is over, so it's time for St. Patrick's Day crafts! For my first craft of this season, I took on a sparkly vase. I saw a sparkly Valentine's Day vase like this on A Glimpse Inside and I thought it would look great in alternating shades of green.

Materials and Supplies

- Vase
- Glitter (two colors)
- Double sided tape (I used 1 1/4 rolls)
- Disposable bowl (not shown)
- Tissue (not shown)
- Sealant (optional)

How to Make This

1. Put your first layer of tape around the vase.

Determine how thick you want each stripe. I alternated between single strips of tape and double strips of tape, for larger stripes.

2. Pour  glitter onto the tape.

Tap the glitter onto the strip of tape.

3. Tap off excess glitter. 

Do this over a disposable bowl or paper. You can pour this back into the glitter container when you're done.

4. Use a tissue to wipe off excess glitter.

Keep a sharp edge above or below the tape line.

5. Continue to alternate stripes of glitter.

Do one color at a time, to keep clean lines. You can make larger or smaller stripes depending on how many rows of tape you place at once.

Tip: Try to line up the start and end pieces of your tape so they are in a row. In some cases, I got a little extra glitter at the start/end of my tape, so it was helpful to have them line up together in the back of my vase.

6. Consider using a spray sealant to seal your vase. 

I'm waiting for a nice day to do this outside, but I think it will be helpful to keep the glitter on the vase. Small amounts come off, unless you handle it carefully.

Link Parties

Katherines Corner
Create Craft Love
Delightful Order
Craftionary
Blissful and Domestic
Twinkle in the Eye
Creative Kreationz
Simply Designing
Joyful Stamper
DIY Show Off
A Little Knick Knack
Raising Memories
I Heart Naptime
C.R.A.F.T.S
Create with Joy
Sew Can Do
Skip to My Lou
Sarah Dawn Designs
Keeping it Simple Crafts
Making the World Cuter
PJH Designs
By Stephanie Lynn
Homemaker on a Dime
Romance on a Dime
The DIY Dreamer
The Blackberry Vine
Elizabeth & Co.
Ginger Snap Crafts
The NY Melrose Family
DIY Crafty Projects
DIY By Design
TwelveOEight
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Creations by Kara
The Trendy Treehouse
I Gotta Create
Southern Lovely
Sew Much Ado
No Minimalist Here
Happy Go Lucky Blog
Seven Alive
Live.Laugh.Rowe
View from River Mountain
Fluster Buster
Create.Craft.Love.
Delightful Order
Katherines Corner
Craftionary
Twinkle in the Eye
Creative Crafts Thursday
Daisy Cottage Designs
A to Z Celebrations
The Taylor House