A Wee Something for the Brownies

I needed a "wee something" to bring to my Brownie Girl Scout troop's meeting to wish them a Happy St. Pat's (we're out on Spring Break next week, when the real leprechauns come out to play).

Found these tiny cauldrons at a discount store (a dozen for $2...score!). Then I just needed some "gold" (in this case, the butterscotch kind) for the leprechaun's treasure, and a lil' note.

Easy and quick. Two of my favorite words!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Winding Up a Shamrock for St. Patrick's Day

Top of the Mornin' to ya! I finally finished my St. Paddy's Day yarn shamrock. I wanted to make something that looked a little homemade...a little bit rustic...but not messy or overly shabby. And here's what I came up with:

I started with four foam hearts, a couple of clearance-priced

skeins of green yarn (one "regular" and one "nubby" for texture). Then I just started winding...and winding... and winding the yarn around the hearts. It's a great project to work on while you're watching tv or waiting at dance lessons or in carpool line. Think of it an a bit of Zen....ahhhhhh.

Once I had wound the darker yarn around each heart, I used a

single strand of the nubby textured yarn as an accent.

But I needed a stem. I originally thought of taping a couple of paint stir stick together and wrapping them in yarn, but settled on a piece of

cardboard from a box in our recycling bin. That way I could control the shape a bit more. Again: winding, winding, winding.

I just used long straight pins to connect the finished hearts together, and then added the stem with two more. Ta da! Ready to hang. I paired it with this cute cloth banner from Hobby Lobby.