Handmade by Hoffy: Happy St. Patrick's Day Projects

Can you believe that it's March? Looking outside I would say it looks more like Christmas is right around the corner. We have been buried this year with lots and lots of that white stuff. Hopefully, the end is near. This week it looks like this week some melting is going to happen. Our lakes up here in the northland were really low last fall, but after this winter I think that issue might be resolved. I can hardly wait to see grass again and feel warm breezes. So much for dreaming...

I love making decorations for all the holidays. My husband's birthday is on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. So it's fun to put out a few St. Patty's Day decorations. This year I made a St. Patty's Day wreath, a centerpiece and a small quilted table mat. My inspiration for the wreath was from Pinterest, of course, and all the elements came from the Dollar Tree. I love that store. You can make so many cute things with a lot of their inventory. It was so much fun assembling them. Now that I'm retired I have the time to make some cute things for our home.

Let's Start With The Wreath...

Here are the items you will need to make both the wreath and the centerpiece. All items were purchased at the Dollar Tree. Although I have 10 decorative mesh pictured in my photo, I actually only used 6. I'll save the rest for another project.

What you will need:

6 decorative mesh
1 14" wreath form
1 8" wreath form (for centerpiece)
St. Patty's Day embellishments (like shamrocks, coins, and ribbons)
2 rolls of St. Patty's Day (wide) ribbon
1 St. Patty's Day door hanging (this will be taken apart and added to the top and bottom of the wreath
pipe cleaners (any color) - I purchased these at Walmart
glue gun and glue

That's it. I believe I spent $20 for both the wreath and the centerpiece. With today's prices on everything, I think this was a pretty good deal. Of course there's your time to consider also. But, I have always felt these things are a labor of love.

Assembling...

Start by rolling the mesh over 2 times and cut. You will do this with all the mesh. I used 2 different colors in my wreath and centerpiece. So just keep cutting.

Once you have completed cutting all the mesh, cut all the pipe cleaners in half. At this point if you want to add ribbon, cut them in 6"-7" pieces and trim both sides like a bow end. I believe you will get around 15 cuts out of 1 roll of ribbon.

I cut some shamrock garland up and added a piece of them also. You can use your imagination on this. Every wreath will be different and that's a good thing.

Now you will start assembling all those little bundles on to the wire wreath form. As you can see from the photo, there are 4 wire circles. Tie each bunch on to the 2 center wires and twist the pipe cleaners. You will trim them when all the bundles are in place. Fill the wire form completely. As you can see, you can't see the pipe cleaners at all. So it doesn't matter what color they are.

Now for the fun part...decorating your wreath

I purchased a door sign that had a hat, shoes and a sign that said Happy St. Patrick's Day on it. I cut off the shoes and glued them to the bottom of the wreath. I placed the hat at an angle on the left side of the wreath and then filled the rest of the wreath with St. Patty's Day embellishments, like shamrocks and coins.

And Here It Is...

I loved the way it turned out. So easy, and inexpensive. Placing wreaths on doors always puts smiles on friends and relatives faces when they visit.

Now On To The Centerpiece...

Basically, you are just repeating the steps from the door wreath for the centerpiece. Once all the decorative mesh is put in place, embellish it with the left overs from the wreath. Add a candle in the center. I use electronic candles. One of the old favorites teched up for the new generations.

The white mesh wrapped around the candle holder is rubber mesh that can also be purchased at the Dollar Tree.

Making A Table Mat...

I purchased 3/8 yard of of three different St. Patrick's day fabrics. I then prewashed and dried the fabric. Once they have been washed and dried, cut 10 5" squares out of one fabric and 8 5" squares out of the second fabric. I stitched 9 of them together for the front and 9 of them together for the back. I also cut 5 -2 1/4" strips for the binding. I use polar fleece for the lining. It's not as thick as batting and I believe it lies much better, especially when you are using on a kitchen or dining room table. When making the binding, fold the 2 1/4" strips in half and iron. You can watch the video below for further instructions. This gal makes it easy...and it is!

This video is from Art Gallery Fabrics.

Well, we've come to the end of another fun project. Although St. Patrick's Day is just two weeks away, there's plenty of time to make these projects. If you don't have enough time, you might want to save this project for Easter. Check out the Dollar Tree for their Easter supplies. They always have such cute items for every holiday.