Erin Fox
St Patrick’s Day is next week and you’ll no doubt be getting ready to collect your shamrocks after Mass, before attending your local parade. While the shamrock is the most popular symbol associated with St Patrick’s Day, there are lots more symbols that mark the occasion, such as rainbows, leprechauns and pots of gold. Make your own luck with this rainbow wreath. You can make it a week ahead so you’ll enjoy it coming up to St Patrick’s Day.
You will need sheets of felt in the colours of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, white and purple, and also pins, dark green felt, scissors, chocolate coins and one polystyrene wreath in any size you like.
Take the sheets of felt in the rainbow colours and cut rectangles from each sheet, long enough to wrap around the ring.
Pin them all around the wreath overlapping each colour until you have worked all the way round the wreath.
Once you’re happy with the positioning, glue them into place, and remove the pins.
Next make your shamrocks. Make a shamrock template from the cereal card and pin this to the dark green felt. Cut around the template and repeat until you have as many shamrocks as you need. One on either side of the cauldron will be enough but you can add more if you wish. Leave them to one side while you make the pot of gold.
Again, use the cereal card to make a cauldron template. Pin this to the black felt and cut around it; glue this to the centre of wreath at the bottom.
Next cut out the coins from the gold card and glue these near the opening of the cauldron and place a few near the cauldron feet. Glue the shamrocks on either side of the cauldron. Tie some ribbon to the top of the wreath for hanging.
Style the wreath differently if you like. The wreath will look just as great without the pot of gold. Instead you can space more shamrocks all around the wreath. Just make sure you space them apart so that you can still see the rainbow base.
Make a four-leaf clover from the remaining dark green felt and hide it among the shamrocks. Use felt in different shades of green for the base of the wreath and make a St Patrick doll to attach to it.