ST. PATRICK'S DAY CRAFTS AND TREATS

 St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner!  My daughter has brought to my attention that she and I didn’t have any St. Patrick’s Day “fashions”.  “Fashion” is the word she uses for accessories, sparkly items, or anything obnoxiously covered with glitter.  I have taught her well!!!  (I am a little scared for her teenage years!!!!HELP!)This headband was a simple craft project but delivered big bang!  Now... we just have to decide where to wear them!  I can't take "BABY GURL" to an Irish PUB!  We shall have a party to wear our new green "fashion" at.  My son will have a birthday very close to St. Patrick's Day...we are gunna celebrate St. Patty's style and  have the family over for a festive green dinner! D-LISH!

This is a headband I picked up in the dollar section at JoAnn’s.  The giant clover is a glittered yard stake that I picked up on the same trip.  They are the same clovers I used to decorate the St. Patrick's Day wreath I posted a few weeks back.    The clover was on sale so the whole headband cost right around 4 bucks to make…LOVE THAT!!!! I pulled the clover  off the stem.  The metal is very lightweight and only need a little convincing to bend. With a hot glue gun and few layers of ribbon the glorious and over-sized headbands were completed.  My daughter is satisfied...FEW!!!

Our next project was a bit of an experiment.  I spent some time at the local scrapbook store where they have a fancy cutting machine.  I decided to give it a run for it's money. I always make my own "things" and I wanted to do a comparison.  I am sort of a BRAT that way! I used their template that makes small gift bag.  In one giant motion the outline for the bag was cut and there were indentations where I was suppose to fold it.  It seemed pretty nice. That part was way easier.    It was fun to use, it cut easily but,  took an entire 12x12 inch piece of paper.  After paying for my time on the machine and purchasing the paper I had used, I was surprised how much money I had to lay down.  Each little bag wound up costing me about a dollar.  Seriously...WHAT!?! I figured I could make them for WAAAY cheaper with  materials I already had at home.  

I like to use wrapping paper when  I paper craft.  I am always on the lookout for great wrapping paper.  I buy the rolls that have really thick paper on them.  I think thick wrapping paper is nice to work with, it  folds great, and is tons bigger than anything paper you can buy.  Plus it is quite a bit less expensive.  These rolls were about 2.99.  I could make hundreds of tiny gift bags!  

I make my tiny bags by wrapping a small box, (this one is a box of  cupcake liners.) leaving one end open to pull the box out, this leaves a nice opening for a treat to go in.  Super easy! 

 By the  time was done, I was pleased with the results.  I think the wrapping paper bags are every bit as cute as the template cut bags.  What do you think? 

 The wrapping paper bag really only took a little bit more time to fold than the template bag.  However…I didn’t have to get dressed, leave the house, or waste gas. Plus, lets talk about this...there was a lady on the machine just next to me who  brought her 4 small children to the scrapbook store.  BRAVE and CRAZY women!  Those poor kids were bored out of their minds and the store staff were continually yelling at them.  The mother seemed to be in her "happy place" and took no notice of her crazy children or the staff yelling at them.   Never mind Calgon, that cutting machine took her away! My kids don't make the cut when it comes to the scrapbook store. There is NO PROJECT ANYWHERE AT ANYTIME that is so important that I would take my "littles" to the scrapbook store!  I am not that strong! 

 Wrapping paper banner...need I say more?  NO, but I always do!  This is my take on a St. Patrick's Day banner.  I love the mix of textures, patterns, and all the different   greens.  I hung this banner with a velvet ribbon. ( I love velvet ribbon!)  I also made more velvet clovers (the ones I made in the last post.)  They were a perfect accent to the banner...No, wait...the banner is a perfect accent for the clovers!  I know St. Patrick's Day is all about green...but, I like the little kick the black provides. It makes me happy.  

 March is a beautiful time of year in Arizona.  I think we will take this party outside.  The garden flowers are bright, everything is fresh,and the kids will have a great time in the yard...gotta love spring!

This treat is specifically for my 10 year old son.  He is a little crazy, just like his mama!  He loves POP ROCKS and for this St. Patrick's holiday we are turning one of his favorite candy into "SHAM-ROCKS" instead of POP ROCKS. I think I am so funny!

 

 His birthday is really close to St. Patrick's day.  These will be  perfect for a  St. Patrick's Day themed birthday party.  He and his friends will get a kick out of these Sham-ROCKS.    The dollar store sells bags of all green apple POP ROCKS.  They come in a bag 3 for a dollar.  Good deal!