ST. PATRICK'S DAY TREATS

I'm not of Irish decent, I don’t drink beer, and I look horrible in green… However, that’s not going to stop me from having a party! St. Patrick's Day is very close to Easter this year.  We will move quickly from St. Paddy's Day green to Easter eggs very quickly! Like I said before, I am not Irish...I think it is a fun tradition.  I remember my mom making us green eggs and ham for breakfast on St. Patrick's day.  I also remember that as a 
grade-school child I would still get pinched even though I was wearing green. Those Leprechauns are little stinkers!

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 I don't eat or prepare traditional Irish food. This being said,   anything green is a "GO" at our  St. Patrick's Day celebration.  I know a lot of people go the way of mint when they think of green food, not me,  I go lime!  These lime cupcakes serve both of my color and taste needs this March.  They are fresh and D-lish!  I love the color and flavor that the strawberry adds to these lovely little lime cakes.  It's the perfect accent to the "I'm not Irish but kiss me anyway!" declaration that has been staked in the top of the cupcakes.  

 My next favorite offering for a St. Patrick's day party is also a fruit... a green grape straw.  Not only do green grapes slide perfectly onto a crazy clover straw but, they freeze remarkably well.  After the kids have helped me put the grapes onto the straw, I put them in the freezer.  Once frozen, I put a straw into a clear glass and pour on the beverage.  

In this case, I didn't want to work too hard...tiny 7up cans are the perfect color and thrill my kids every time! The frozen grapes take the place of ice so the soda is nice and cold but, doesn't get watered down.  My kids love making these, eating them, and using the crazy clover straw...I would call that a win!  

 For my next trick there will be no fruit. In fact, NO nutritional value at all.  They are however, yummy and adorable. Did you know that this time of the year they make all green clover Luck Charms!?!  They do!  (I found these at Walmart.)  How lucky can a girl get!?!

 I am going to admit that I loved Lucky Charms as a child.  I would fish around the actual cereal and try to get as many marshmallows on my spoon as I possible could.  My love for this cereal has somewhat changed, I do however enjoy a good cereal and marshmallow treat every now and then! These made great  cereal bars...PLUS....all green clovers...WHAT!?! I am so happy right now! 
I cut some of them into clover shapes using my trusty clover cookie cutter and left some cut in squares.  The clovers are look adorable.  The texture is soft even thought the cereal is a little harder than Rick Krispies.  Still, it works great and my kids like them.  These work well with regular Lucky Charms too.  However, these are perfect for the holiday. Finding these made me feel like I had found the pot of gold...MAN, I need a little bit more excitement if this box of Lucky Charms is making all my dreams come true!

 The package will keep them fresh and soft. I love the little tag and all with the treat app packaged up, I think they make a cute little gift.  I have a "thing" for velvet ribbon.   My heart feels like velvet  is the most beautiful ribbon in the whole world.  This deep green velvet has served me well for many crafting projects.  I have not been able to stop thinking about it for the past several days.  I figured it would make the perfect clover to adorn my treat packages!  

This is a simple St. Patrick's Day craft that goes together super fast.  Once it was made, I attached it to a green clothespin The clothespin had been painted green and the top blinged out.  This fancy velvet clover could be attached to just about anything! (a headband, a hair clip)