This year, I needed some creative ideas for St. Patrick’s Day decorations…I didn’t want to spend any money.
I pilfered a picture from our entry way and a decorative bottle from my husband’s collection.
I really wanted a bunting. I downloaded a template and cut some faux linen I had in my stash (and I did not do a great job of cutting on the grain). I used my pinking shears to trim it up and some decorative double fold bias tape I had in my stash that I would probably never use. (Truth be told, bias tape and I are NOT friends). I had some vinyl shamrocks that I had cut out years ago for my daughters’ t shirts but I never used them, so they became the shamrocks on the bunting. I used an iron to fuse them on. The length of the bunting was completely determined by how many shamrocks I had.
Even with the bunting, I thought it looked too bare. I knew I had some copper paint in my paint box so I went out to the garage and found a piece of scrap wood. I painted it copper and let it dry. Then using my favorite search engine, I searched “free celtic fonts” and downloaded the font. I used a tutorial to add the font to the computer. As with any free internet download, please run an antivirus scan. Then I used my cricut to cut out the vinyl from my stash. BAM! Done!
(If I was making the sign as a gift, I’d make the font size bigger but….)
Voila! A St. Patrick’s mantel! For free!
Today I feed my children junky cereal (once a year) and I scored with a coupon and got the Lucky Charms with Magical Unicorns (for my unicorn loving daughter) for $.80. (I will ignore the scary unicorn design on the box).
For lunch, we are having green eggs and ham. My chickens are finally laying again.
For dinner, I have corned beef, potatoes and cabbage. I do the corned beef in my instant pot.
I also make soda bread. I use Kathy’s recipe below. For the record, the bread soda referenced is baking soda.
Nicely decorated fireplace. What, though, is that thing above the sign that looks like a little helicopter?
We made corned beef too on Saturday, but I put the meat out in the garage in a crockpot to cook. We add carrots and onions with the potatoes and cabbage. Do you?
I like to make soda bread too, but any recipe I have ever used has currants in it. The recipe I used this year from one of my cookbooks also had caraway seed. I liked that. Did you use the whole teaspoon of salt?? I didn’t add any.
You have a good eye…the helicopter thing is our projector tv! I do add cabbage and potatoes to my corned beef. I’ve never tried caraway seeds in soda bread but I’m sure I would like it! I love caraway seeds