St. Patrick's Day DIY Clovers

How to Make St. Patrick’s Day Crepe Paper Clovers
Imaginative Crafts, Do-It-Yourself Projects and Video Tutorials by Robert Mahar, robert-mahar.com
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Robert’s St. Patrick’s Day Inspiration Pinterest Board:http://www.pinterest.com/robertm/st-p…

Click here for how to use these on a St. Patrick’s Day Cake!

Materials:
Crepe paper*
28 gage cloth covered floral wire**
*Online source for double-sided German crepe paper:https://www.castleintheair.biz/shoppe…
**Online source for 28 gauge cloth covered floral wire:http://www.calcastlecraft.com/Cloth_C…

Tools:
Scissors
White glue
Heart shaped paper punch*
*Online source for heart shaped paper punch:http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-12-7442…

Directions:
1. Begin by cutting heart shapes out of the green crepe paper (with the grain of the crepe positioned vertically) either by using a heart shaped paper punch or by creating a heart shaped template in cardboard, tracing it onto the crepe paper and cutting them out by hand. If you chose to use a paper punch it often works best to layer a piece of copy paper over the crepe paper and then feeding then both into the paper punch — without the copy paper layer, the soft crepe paper may stretch and tear. Punch three hearts for each clover and then fold each in half

2. Cut three identical pieces of 28 gauge cloth covered floral wire for each clover.

3. Take one piece of wire and lightly coat the end in white glue, about ¼”. Place the glue covered wire in the fold of one of the folded heart positioning it in the bottom center at the point of the heart. Close the folded heart and pinch the crepe paper around the end of the wire to secure it in place and then partially open the fold to create one of the clover leaves. Repeat this to create all three leaves and then allow them to try for a couple of minutes each.

4. Once the glue had dried, stack the leaves on top of one another, aligning them evenly. Begin twisting the wires together just below the crepe paper leaves — twist the wire together all the way down to the end creating one continuous stem.

5. Reposition the leaves to form the clover shape. You’ve created your first crepe paper clover!

Helpful Tips:
• Create a lucky four leaf clover by adding in one additional leaf!
• Bundle a small cluster of clovers together, bind and toe them with a length of jute twine and place them on a folded napkin to create a festive St. Patrick’s Day table place setting.
• Wrap the end of the clover stems in aluminum foil and then use them as cupcake or cake toppers.
• Create small tabletop arrangements by placing the stems into moss-covered Styrofoam balls.