A Wee Bit O' Something for St. Patrick's Day

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 A sad glitter heart left over from Valentine's day gave me the jump start to make this St. Paddy's day banner. I love St. Patrick's Day but, I am not to fond about spending all my pot O' gold on decorations for the holiday. Plus, most of the decor that can be found in stores is tacky crap (excuse the language) and not worth the money. Using what I had on hand, in total this project cost me $0.

It started with this glitter chipboard heart I found in the dollar section at target.
It had be filed away with my scrapbook paper for a couple years. I traced it 3 times onto a plain piece of chipboard so that I would have three leaves for my shamrock.
*Note: Chipboard is that stiff piece of cardboard that you can usually find on the back of a legal notepad. So, you could do what I did and just rip the chipboard of the back of your notepad. Or, go buy a couple sheets of it from the craft store.

You can right click and and save this template then open it up in word or photo shop to print.....

 ....or, I found this clip art off the web that could work as well.

Trace and cut out the heart template so that you have a total of 3 hearts.

Use the excess card board and cut out a stem for your shamrock. Then, with hot glue attach two of your heart to the stem so that the hearts look like a butterfly.
Glue the third heart at the top. Place it however you like. Mine overlapped the bottom two hearts slightly. I then took white glue and painted it allover my shamrock. Then apply glitter. I use Martha Stewart Whit Gold craft glitter. Note: if you apply the glue and glitter in segments it is a bit more manageable.

For the pennants to hang on the banner, I happen to have burlap on hand and lots of scrapbook paper in shades O' green. But, you could use whatever you have on hand. The burlap I cut 5" wide x 5 3/4" long, then dove tailed the ends. I also fringed the sides of the burlap.
My paper I cut 3 3/4" wide x 5" long and again, dove tailed the ends. I would advise making holes in the top of your pennants now. It was a little difficult once the burlap and the paper were glued together. I, then glued the paper to the burlap with hot glue and applied a layer of mod podge over the top of the paper/burlap to seal it. The next step is to find your favorite ribbon and string your pennants to you glittered shamrock.

I attached a wee little "Luck O' the Irish" tag to the center of the shamrock and tied it on with twine and ribbon.

Make it as long or as short as you like. Hang it above a window or from a mantel or shelf.

Best O' Luck to ya! And, Happy Crafting!