Luck of the Irish!

St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us!  Now, I may not seem like your standard St. Patty's fan, but I grew up in Savannah, Georgia which has the second largest St. Patrick's Day celebration in the U.S. (I know, go figure!). So, it's always been a part of my life.  Here is a fun, easy, and dramatic way to bring a little of the holiday into your home!

MATERIALS- 4 pieces of styrofoam (I used 12" x 36" x 1", but you can scale it up or down)- Decorative paper (I used 4 different patterns of scrapbooking paper, 2 sheets of each)- Glue or Modge Podge- Green glitter- Paring knife- Utility knife or scissors

STEPS

Draw out each letter (L, U, C, K) on a styrofoam sheet.  Make them as large or small as you'd like to fit your mantel.  I made mine the width of the styrofoam sheet, but about 4 inches shorter since they would be too tall otherwise.  I made the "strokes" all 3" wide which made them all pretty easy to draw out.  You could also just print out the letters from a printer and trace them onto the sheets.

Cut out each letter.  I find that the easiest thing to use is a sharp paring knife from the kitchen.  You could also use a utility knife or one of those fancy heated foam cutters.  Go slow and try to get as smooth a cut as possible.

Spread glue or Modge Podge onto the front of your letters and position the paper on top.  My letters were twice the height of my paper, so I had to use two pieces per letter and match up the seem, which wasn't difficult at all and you can't even see the line.

Once the glue has had a chance to dry a bit, take a utility knife or scissors and trim along the styrofoam to cut off the excess paper.

With a paint brush, apply glue or Modge Podge to the edges and sprinkle on the green glitter.

Attach the letters to each other using more glue (or a glue gun).  Lay your U and K down on a table so that the bottom edges are even and them work in the L and C at an angle and glue them all in place.  That's it!  I added a little punch to the mantel by filling some apothecary jars with green jelly beans and M&M's.  I also painted a little plastic green pot white, added potting soil and moss and used it to hold some shamrocks which I had glittered and taped to the end of coat hanger wire. Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!