Valentine's Day is over and the next holiday is right around the corner: St. Patrick's Day! Here, in Savannah, St. Patrick's Day is HUGE! We're talking one of the largest in the country. We're talking 400,000 visitors a year large! Every year they have a huge parade including pipe and drum teams from around the nation, marching bands, floats, military, and more. The city turns green! It's green everywhere from people, animals, foutains, and beer. Depending on what part of the route you're standing, you could be watching a 3 hour parade. The parade is so big and there are so many people, that the county has to close the schools for the day because the buses can't get downtown with all the people and activities going on.
Two years ago, some of my friends went down for St. Patrick's Day (this was when I lived in Beaufort, SC). We had a blast and you can definitely meet some interesting people. For us it was a day trip, and we were not able to stay and enjoy the crazy night of St. Patrick's Day drinking that follows the daytime, more family oriented festivities. I have experienced the crazy night time festivities but that was four years ago. Here are a few pictures from St. Patrick's Day 2010.
We do not know this leprechaun but we just had to have a picture with him
Me in my St Patty's Day gear!
Even the horses get all dolled up.
All the fountains in Savannah, and there's a good amount are dyed green. The used to dye the Savannah River green but the EPA got involved and so now the city is not allowed.
OK, I guess that's enough for my trip (and apparent plug) about St. Patrick's Day in Savannah. The real reason you stopped by my blog today: a St. Patrick's Day craft. To help get in the St. Patrick's Day spirit, I decided a wreath would be the perfect project! I had seen this wreath over at The Idea Room and new I wanted to make a wreath like this. It was perfect for a St. Patrick's Day wreath. All I needed was green felt and a shamrock-shaped wreath form. I looked everywhere; in any store I thought would sell wreath forms, online, and even sent my mom in Atlanta looking and you know what we found: NOTHING! Big bummer.
After finally giving up, I decided it would still be cute if I made this wreath in the traditional (traditional sounds so much better than standard, don't ya think?) circle shape. So this what I set out to do. I will continue to search for a shamrock-shaped wreath form, or eventually try my hand at making my own.
Materials Needed
Scissors
Circle Template
(this can be anything: a cup, a jar, a can, a stencil, etc. I used a circle template that I already owned which made the process easier, but it's definitely not necessary. The link provides you with one very similar to what I haveGold Ribbon
***Note: This can be a very time consuming project, so I chose to work on this after the kids went to bed to help complete this project faster. Pop in a movie, grab a glass if wine (or tea, coffee or whatever you want to drink) and get started
1. I started out by using my circle template and creating TONS ( and I mean tons) of 3" circles. I don't know how many I created but it was a lot. I used a green washable marker so that lines could wash out and were less likely to be seen.
2. After creating all my circles, I cut them out. This was definitely the most time consuming part.
3. Now that all the circles were cut out, it was time to put them on the wreath. I began by folding a circle in half.
4. Then I folded it in half again, so you have folded it into fourths
5. I then stuck a straight pin through the tip of what no looks like a pie piece.
6. Take your pin and circle and stick it into the foam wreath form, pushing all the way down.
7. Repeat steps 4-7 for each individual circle, placing each pin close together so it fills in any holes and gaps. I did not put any on the back, but I did put them on the top and bottom. I figured it make it easier to hang on the door without all the puffiness on the back.
8. After finishing the wreath, I took some gold ribbon, cut it the length I wanted and then attached to the back of the wreath with a few extra straight pins. You could also hot glue as well.
I LOVE how it turned out and I'm already wanting to make another for other holidays and/or shapes!
Have you made anything for St. Patrick's Day yet? How about any wreaths? Share it with me. You can upload your pics and links (if you have a site) via email, the Flickr group, or on my Facebook page and you could end up on Show Me Saturday!
