Craft Yourself a Great St. Patrick’s Day

We’re all Irish on St. Patrick’s Day! Hair turns green, beer turns green; it’s green, green, green all day long!

Celebrate the luck of the Irish with these delightful green crafts and a few treats, too! There’s something for the whole family to make and enjoy!

(Please note that we’re taking a little liberty with the word “shamrock.” Shamrocks traditionally are three-leaf clovers; for our purposes here, we’re including four-leaf clovers.)

SHAMROCK STRAW TOPPERS

We think your beverage is bound to taste better when you add this topper to your straw and toast with a friend!

Materials

• green card stock
• scissors
• bendable drinking straws (green, or white with green stripes)

Steps

1. Cut card stock into 2 1/2-inch squares.

2. Fold each square in half diagonally to make a triangle. Fold in half diagonally two more times. You will end up with a tiny triangle.

3. Holding the point of the tiny triangle in one hand, begin to trim a half heart, starting about one third of the way down the fold, trimming up and around. End the cut just over halfway down the other side. (Do not cut down to the point.) 4. Trim just the very tip of the point to make a tiny hole for the straw to fit into.

5. Unfold the shamrock and slide it onto the end of a straw.

SHAMROCK GARLAND

Fun and festive, this garland adds a touch of leprechaun’s luck wherever it’s hung! Try your stair railing, mantel, doorway, chair back, photo booth or even in your office!

Materials

• scissors
• pen
• ruler
• shamrock template
• crepe-paper streamers (green, or a couple of variations of green)

Steps

1. Print or draw a shamrock template. Trim it, if necessary, until it measures 2 1/4 inches at the widest point and 2 1/4 inches tall at the tallest point. (These measurements can vary slightly depending on the width of your streamer.)

2. Accordion-fold a 24-inch piece of crepe-paper streamer. (If you fold a longer piece, it will be difficult to cut.)

3. Trace the shamrock template onto the streamer. (The accordion folds of the streamer should be on the sides.) The upper half of the left and right leaves should extend just slightly over the folded edge of the streamer. (You will not cut the folds at these points.)

4. Carefully cut out the shamrock, not trimming the folds on the upper half of the left and right leaves of the shamrock.

5. Unfold and hang to decorate!

Shop Bronner’s shamrocks for more great decorative pieces for St. Patrick’s Day!

SHAMROCK GREEN PEPPERS

No trick needed here to get your little (and big) people to eat their greens!

Materials/Ingredients

• two green bell peppers (serves 3-4)
• cutting board
• knife for slicing peppers
• serving plate and dipping bowl
• your favorite dip (We used french onion, but Bronner’s Flavorful Favorites staff cookbooks have great options too.)

Steps

1. Slice one green pepper and half of the other green pepper width-wise into 1/3-inch thick shamrock heads.
2. Trim the remaining half green pepper length-wise into strips to form stems.
3. Remove all seeds and membranes from the shamrock heads and stems.
4. Arrange the shamrock heads and stems on serving plate and place dip in a small bowl.

Shamrock Hair Pin

You will enter the no-pinch zone when you wear a shamrock hair pin on St. Patrick’s Day!

Materials

• bobby pin
• scissors
• pen
• needle
• dime
• heavy green thread or embroidery floss
• craft glue
• green felt

Steps

1. Trace three circles on the felt using a dime.

2. Cut out the circles and trim a rectangular stem from the scraps or original piece of felt.
3. Slightly overlap the three circles (center) and stitch them together.
4. Stitch the stem to the middle of the back side of the shamrock.

5. Dot a little craft glue on the middle of the back of the shamrock and press it onto the closed end of the bobby pin. Secure the shamrock onto the bobby pin with half a dozen stitches.

And what is St. Patrick’s Day without an Irish dinner?

Add colcannon to your St. Patrick’s Day menu! The recipe for this traditional Irish dish can be found in “Bronner’s Flavorful Favorites, Book 2” staff cookbook.

COLCANNON*

Ingredients:

– 4-5 medium potatoes, unpeeled, cut into quarters, for mashing
– 1/2 c. milk, heated (more if needed)
– 1/2 head cabbage, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
– 1/2 red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– 6 slices center-cut (lean) bacon

Instructions:

1. Boil potatoes beginning with cold salted water until fork tender.
2. Meanwhile, fry bacon in a large pan over medium heat until crispy. Remove, crumble and reserve bacon.
3. Wilt the cabbage and onion in the bacon grease until softened but still slightly crunchy, 5-10 minutes, adding garlic towards the end and stirring frequently to prevent burning. (Deglazing the pan with a splash of your favorite vinegar is always a good idea.)
4. Season with salt and pepper of choice.
5. In a large bowl, mash potatoes, adding milk, butter-flavored salt, and pepper to taste.
6. Stir in bacon, cabbage and onions, and serve.

RECIPE VARIATIONS:
Great add-ins or toppings are melted butter, shredded cheddar, crumbled feta or blue cheese, sauteed leeks, green onions and parsley.

*submitted by Dietrich Bronner

How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Tell us in the comments below – and here’s an Irish blessing before you go!