Easy St. Patrick’s Day Foam Sticker Wreath for Kids

Written by: Grace

Oh, I’m a proud Mama (I always am, but in a few sentences you will see why I am especially proud).

I have a thing for wreaths. It really is no secret around here. I just really love them. So imagine my elation when I devised a craft for my oldest to create that yielded his very first wreath. A foam sticker wreath, but a wreath nonetheless.

Look at the wreath; ignore the chocolate stache!

This is a project that almost all kids will dig because it is not super time consuming, it will not cause frustration, and it uses stickers. Heeellllllllllllllooooooooooo, stickers are awesome.

In other words, it fits into my trend of easy crafts (like this, and this, and this… )

Here’s what you will need:

- Seasonally/Holiday Themed Foam stickers (you can get these from The Dollar Tree or any craft store)

Check out this cache of foam stickers.

- Cardboard/Thick Poster Paper

-Ribbon (optional)

Here’s what you will do:

- Cut the cardboard into a wreath shape– For this step, I placed a bowl on the cardboard and had F trace around it to make the initial circle. Then I had him place a smaller bowl in the center of the bigger circle and had him trace that, too. For ease, you could have this done ahead of time.

- Open the packs of foam stickers and allow your kiddo to design/decorate his/her wreath.

That’s it.

F created a wreath and worked on his fine motor skills– a winner of a craft!

Peeling the backs off the stickers is some hard work.

Work in progress

I think he’s pretty proud of it, too.

St. Patrick’s Day Proud

Side note: This is probably just a reminder for myself, but… restrain from dictating how the stickers should be placed/arranged, etc. When I envisioned this craft, I thought it would be absolutely adorable if the stickers were overlapped and layered all around the wreath.In fact, I suggested that to F when he first started, but I quickly bit my tongue and let him go. It was his craft, not mine. If I wanted one that was perfectly layered, I could make one myself.

Even though the layers would have been lovely, it wouldn’t have been his work; it would have been mine. Instead, he is proud that he created a lovely wreath that is all his own.

Wow! A foam shaped wreath dropped some learning on me! (Warning: Teacher talk is about to start) From a teacher’s perspective, I get annoyed when parents complete their children’s homework/project because I want to see what my students can do. But now here’s the other side, I want to not only see what they can do, but I also want them to be PROUD of their work, and they can’t be if it isn’t their own. Who would have thought some foam stickers would make a girl think so?

05
Mar
2014

Moss Covered Shamrock

Written by: Lisa

St. Patrick’s day has always been an ignored holiday in our house in terms of décor—I usually jump from winter straight into spring. People always assume I go all out for St. Patrick’s day because I’m the pastiest of white and have freckles. So, in the spirit of my wee sliver of Irish roots, I figured I had to try and get at least one shamrock or something going on.

If you couldn’t tell from my other posts, we don’t really feature loud colors or glittery accents at our house. We’re a bit more subdued and au naturel ‘round these parts. When I saw this on Etsy, I knew two things: one, that it would fit in perfectly with our style, and two, I could make that sucker on my own.

What you need:

1/4” plywood—I used leftover from my Berry T Wreath post
a print out of your shamrock –- I free styled a large version based off of a smaller print out
Jigsaw
Sandpaper
Spray Paint- optional
Moss—I used sheet moss found at any craft store
Glue Gun

Step 1:

Print out your shamrock so you can trace it onto your wood OR draw a shamrock freestyle on your wood.

Step 2:

Power up your jigsaw and get to cutting. Be patient while cutting, as it is more difficult to cut curves rather than straight lines. Is it wrong that I always want to say “get jiggy with it” whenever I mention a jigsaw in my projects? It’s one of my absolute favorite tools!

Step 3:

Give it a quick sand to ensure you don’t have any shards of wood that are exposed—we don’t want any splinters.

Step 4:

As with my Berry T Wreath, I chose to spray paint the wood before covering it. I did not want the natural wood color showing on the edges of the shamrock, so I gave one coat of spray paint to the sides and top of the shamrock.

Step 5:

Trace your shamrock onto the back of your moss sheet and cut it out.
(Does anyone else think of Joey from Full House whenever they hear this phrase, or am I the only weirdo?)

Step 6:

Using your glue gun, apply your moss. Be prepared for a bit of a mess—moss sheds!

Now, I know that some stores carry moss that has adhesive on the back– no such luck for this girl. If you find that type of moss, I would imagine that the adhesive on the back would be sufficient to adhere to the wood, no glue gun necessary– talk about easy!

What moss covered crafts have you made lately?!

03
Mar
2014

Twigs+Frame=?

Written by: Rona

My attempt at St. Patrick’s Day decoration.

I’m not a huge fan of St. Patrick’s Day. I think it’s because I was scared for life by the movie Leprechaun. There were FIVE sequels made (2, 3, 4, 5, and Leprechaun in the Hood). Why? Anyway, for my husband’s namesake, I thought I ought to get into the spirit. I was inspired by this beautiful image. I love the organic feel and versatility of twigs, not to mention they are free! I didn’t want to shell out money for a holiday I don’t really love.

It was 50 degrees last week, which felt tropical compared to all the polar vortex we’ve had this winter. L and I took advantage of the springlike temps and went on a walk to find some twigs. It was definitely more like a quest. There were piles of snow at every corner, half shoveled sidewalks and puddles from the melting snow. Finding twigs was a difficult task. Imagine the excitement when I saw these guys with little buds on them.

I climbed on top of a huge mound of snow (easily over 5 feet) as L watched in the stroller. I wish I took a picture to help you understand the struggle. I’m pretty sure people were starring, but I didn’t care. Nothing screams “spring” like budding trees er twigs!

Returned from our quest with bundles of twigs, I remembered a frame I bought on clearance from Hobby Lobby for a dollar. I put the frame on top of each branch to find a pairing I liked.

I gave the winning branch a fitting by trimming some of the sprigs. I left a few hanging outside of the frame to keep it natural and playful. Then I secured the twig to the frame via tape.

What’s St. Patrick’s Day without something green? I dug out my stash of random paint chips (I’m a closet hoarder) and picked out a few pretty green colors. You might recognize this picture from our Instagram sneak peek.

I free handed a few little triangles.

Taped those babies to some twine.

Tied the mini flags to my framed twig.

The back of the flags are not so pretty. You may have noticed it from the reflection in the mirror. If I have time I will cut out a few more triangles to tape to the back.

I think I will leave it up for L’s birthday and Easter. I just need to change up the ribbon and the flags. I may even break this baby out for Christmas. Endless possibilities and I only spent a dollar! I’m pretty proud of myself.

Have you seen Leprechaun in the Hood starring Ice T? Thoughts?

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