A Wee Bit O' the Irish

Hello, Dear Friends, today I have a 

wee bit o' Irish crafting to share with you

for St. Patrick's Day! 

My model, 'Kathleen O'Balloon' :) is wearing a 

shamrock headband and 'Irish' 

necklace that I made. 

Both of these are very easy to make

and will keep you from being

pinched on St. Patrick's Day! 

The necklace was made with alphabet

beads, ribbon and buttons. 

If you are not Irish, you can spell

out, 'Irish Today' ! 

To make the headband, you will need: 

green felt, 

A green cloth covered headband,

a thin piece of cardboard to make a template, 

and some green thread and needle. 

I saw this idea in Martha Stewart Magazine a few years ago. 

To draw the template, first make one

on paper with a pencil. 

For the design, think of 3 intersecting hearts <3

with a stem. 

Cut it out and then trace onto cardboard. 

Place on felt and draw around it with a pen. 

Cut out. 

To give the shamrock dimension, 

pinch it horizontally and take a stitch or two

to hold it, 

then pinch it vertically, 

stitching in place. 

Sew it with a few stitches to the headband 

and you are done! 

If you can't find a headband, 

simply pin the shamrock to your lapel

with a hatpin! 

For the necklace, (which is my own design)

you will need:

Alphabet beads

thin green ribbon

green thread and a needle 

(thin enough to fit through the beads)

4 tiny green buttons and l larger button for clasp. 

Fast drying glue

To begin, measure the length you would like

your necklace, from the back of your neck. 

Triple this measurement and cut two pieces

of ribbon to this measurement. 

Take one piece and double it. 

Using a long double length of thread

(this will be used for buttons and the beading)

sew the button to the folded part of the ribbon. 

Without breaking the thread, slide the beads onto it, 

then with the 2nd length of ribbon folded in half, 

sew the second button onto the fold, as shown. 

Don't pull the thread too tight along the beads

or they won't lie right. 

Turn the necklace over and sew another button

to the backs of the existing buttons. 

(Simply bring the needle through both buttons

to stitch)

To create the clasp, knot the ribbon end and sew a larger 

button to it securely. 

Make a loop on the opposite side, 

just large enough to slip over the button. 

Use a dab of fast drying glue to secure the knots

 and trim off loose ends. 

Tie knots at evenly spaced intervals 

along the length of each side. 

That's all there is to it! 

May your thoughts be as glad 

as the shamrocks, 

May your heart be as light

as a song, 

May each day bring you 

bright, happy hours,

That stay with you all year long. 

xoxo

Happy Crafting Dear Friends! 

xoxo