I grew up with tons of Irish traditions, thankfully, because of a special family that adopted me as their own when I was only two years old. The sound of bagpipes sings a melody to me heart. The smell of corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread makes me séanmhar (happy in Irish). But, even if you are not Irish, this months is still always fun to celebrate and decorate for St. Patrick’s Day. Green is the obvious color of choice when decorating for this lucky holiday, and no matter your style there are numerous ways to bring a wee bit of Irish heritage into your home. Below are our favorite ideas to keep everyone’s eyes smilin’!
Mini Candy Cauldrons
This idea is super simple, all you need to do is pick up some plastic candy kettles (or cauldrons) and fill them with green candies like Andies Candies, green foiled Hersey Kisses or green lollipops. Try some gold treats like gold coins.
You can decorate the mini cauldrons (your pot of gold) by hanging a tag with an Irish poem or saying. You can decorate the actual pot of gold with stickers or bedazzle them. It’s great to have them throughout your home, in your office or bring as a gift when you show up for up the festivities at your neighbors house.
Don’t have a sweet tooth? No problem. Why not fill them up with some fresh yellow flowers. Or, spray paint some white carnations a lil o’green. These tiny treats shouldn’t cost you a fortune. Party City has a 12-pack available for under $5!
DIY Reclaimed Wood Sign
DIY signs on reclaimed wood are super easy to do and look like you dished out major bucks for them. Check around your neighborhood to see if there are any small shops that sell reclaimed barn wood; if not, you can still buy a board at your local hardware store and distress it yourself. Once you find a piece of wood to use, decide on the design you’d like to paint on. After you have your design and/or text picked out, I find it easiest to print it out in the size I need (sometimes requires a few different sheets to cover the full piece of wood) and then simply rub charcoal on the back. Then, place the printout on top of your piece of wood and, with a pencil, draw over the outline of your picture. The charcoal that is on the back of your printout will then transfer onto your piece of wood – so be sure to press down firmly! – and once you have that initial outline you can go over directly on the wood with your pencil to make your outlines darker and more prominent. Once you have your entire design traced out on your piece of wood, you are now ready to paint! I typically use acrylics and have not had any issues.
DIY framed St. Patrick’s Day printable
If you are looking an even simpler DIY then you are in luck! Printables are a quick and inexpensive way to decorate for any occasion. There are a lot of free printables out there, and with sites like Canva and programs like Photoshop, InDesign and even PowerPoint, they are also very easy to DIY. The best part of printables is that all you have to do is print them out, put them in frame and display in your favorite spot! Another cool idea would be to print up a whole bunch of Irish quotes and pictures and hang them with green close pins on a string or wire from a door or curtain.
FUN FACT! Did you know? Green is associated with St. Patrick’s Day because it is the color of spring, of Ireland, and of the shamrock (discovery.com)
Antique Green Vases
If you want to add some green to your home for St. Patrick’s Day but in a more subtle way, scour some local antique and thrift stores for old green vases. Try to grab a few with different styles and fill them with white flowers throughout your home. My favorite picks for flowers include white hydrangeas, mini-calla lilies, ranunculus or lilacs. If you can only find clear vases, not a problem! You can still add that St. Patrick’s Day touch by simply filling the clear vase about one-third of the way with some green decorative pebbles or beads and then putting either white flowers or a white candle in the vase. Or you can spray paint any old vase you have in the home or take a drive by at a local garage sale.
Antique Horseshoes
If you have more of a rustic decorating style, try utilizing old horseshoes. There are quite a few different ways to incorporate antique horseshoes into your St. Patrick’s Day décor. One idea from Fynes Designs is creating your own pallet sign with the word “LUCKY” painted on it, and using the horseshoe as the “U” – love this idea! If you would rather buy instead of DIY, check out these adorable lucky horseshoe signs on reclaimed wood from the Etsy workshop Primitive Woodworks.
FUN FACT! According to Hello Giggles, there are 10,000 three-leaf clovers for every 4-leaf clover.
Whether you decide to take part in the Irish traditions of this spring holiday or pass on through, I wish you a prosperous month of laughter, dancing and traditions that sing to your heart.
