With limited time to decorate for St. Patrick's Day this year
I was thrilled to find faux stems of shamrocks at Jo Ann's
Fabrics and Crafts Store. They give an instant Irish look to
anything they are placed into/onto/near to.
The first thing I placed the faux shamrocks around was
two metal candle holders that I found at Hobby Lobby a
couple of years ago. Although they are reproductions, they
give the feeling of coming from an old church to me. 
They sit on the cabinet below the faux stained glass window
that I made last year in honor of St. Patrick himself. 
The image is a portrayal of how Patrick was a Christian
missionary to the Irish. He explained the doctrine of the
Holy Trinity to the Irish by using one of their national
symbols, the shamrock.
The faux shamrocks are used again on the dining room
table near St. Patrick.
This time they surround a crown embellished with shamrocks.
The crown is also an object made last year and brought to
the forefront again for St. Patrick's Day 2014.
There were many men who claimed to be king of Ireland
in years past. They battled over different areas of the land.
The flame less candles around the crown
got a touch of green too.
Raffia from the Dollar Tree was wrapped around each
candle (two raffia pieces were tied together to make
enough loops around) and punched-out paper four leaf
clovers were snugged under the raffia loops.
The paper punch that I have is a four-leaf clover which is
NOT the same as a shamrock which has three leaves.
The three-leafed shamrock is the national symbol of
Ireland. Americans usually tend to think of the two
similar-looking plants as interchangeable but they
are not to Irish folks. Most real clover only have three
leaves also. The oxalis plant with four leaves that you
see in stores this time of year is not a shamrock or a clover.
Anyway, I continued to use the four-leaf clover stamp to
decorate flame less candles in the china cabinet in the
dining room too. Not wanting to glue the clovers onto
the candle, I used a small piece of double-stick tape.
The china cabinet also holds more hold overs from
last year's St. Patrick Day decorations mixed in with
vases and candle holders used in the cabinet for
Christmas and Valentine decorating.
To make the faux shamrock stems go farther in giving
an Irish look to the small flower arrangements in the
cabinet, they were cut into pieces. Some of the cut
up shamrocks nestled into the faux flowers and some
needed some cut dry foam from Dollar Tree to stand up.
This area looks especially nice at night when the
candles come on automatically at dusk and
stay on for about four hours.
Another quickie St. Patrick's Day decoration is a
wreath for the front door. I already had a base made from
burlap-looking deco mesh made "for such a time as this" (needing
fast decor) last year for the post "A Wreath For All Seasons".
The green mesh, shamrock ribbon and wire garland
were purchased from Hobby Lobby and Jo Ann's.
on sale recently. Here's how the wreath looked after
the mesh and ribbon had been added to the base:
Then the shamrock wired garland was added:
The leftover ribbon was looped into a bow then
pinched into place with a pipe cleaner so it could be
added to the wire wreath form.
Now even the house is wearing a touch of green
for St. Patrick's Day.
One of the first blog posts that I did for Miss Kopy Kat
was to research and then share what I learned on my
blog about how to turn beer green for St. Patrick's Day.
That was something that I had wondered about and
thought maybe others had too.
I remember being so nervous to push the "publish"
button but everybody has to start somewhere!
When St. Patrick's Day rolls around I know that it is a
blogiversary for me 'cause I remember that green beer.
Just like the shamrock has three leaves, this year marks
my three years of blogging.
Thanks to Graphics Fairy for the shamrock image
Although I have been sporadic in posting during that time
due to work and family obligations, I really appreciate those
of you who follow and read my blog and especially
those kind enough to leave me comments. It is a joy to me!
I am sharing this post at
Sunday Showcase @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper
Masterpiece Monday @ Boogieboard Cottage
Mod Mix Monday @ Mod Vintage Life
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch