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While looking around the web for St. Patrick’s Day craft inspiration I ran across Pumpkin Petunia’s free lucky penny template.  Jo-Ann, a very crafty mom, created the template for her kids to use as a classroom handout for St. Patrick’s Day.   Of course, after seeing the template, I knew that it was the perfect background for a little bit of quilling, so I added the quilled shamrocks.  This time I made them with 4″ teardrop coils (using 1/8″ wide paper) that I paired into hearts, just like the ones used for the Upcycled Valentine’s Day Quilling project.  When you glue three hearts together, you have a shamrock.  I added a small flat-back gold crystal for a little extra bling.

 

I must have had the lucky penny handouts still on my mind when I went to bed because I woke up thinking how fun it might be if the children could pretend that they were the king or queen of the leprechauns handing out the pennies.  That, of course, meant that they would need a crown — a crown decorated with quilled shamrocks and precious jewels!  The one I made, using 3/8″ wide quilling paper with a gold edge,  is for your inspiration only.  A child would do a much more creative version.   Throw in some crayons, markers, and glitter and this crown would truly be fit for royalty.

 

 

Quilling Tip:  I found references on the web to a National Lucky Penny Day celebrated on May 23rd in Canada and Great Britain.  My international readers might like to make a batch of lucky penny cards to give to friends and family at that time.  The crown (minus the shamrocks) would be a fun children’s project for anytime of the year. 

Top ‘o the morning to you!  I missed Mardi Gras and the Chinese New Year, but my Scots-Irish heritage wouldn‘t let me skip St. Paddy’s Day without a quilled project or two.

 

In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day has become a celebration of everything Irish — and what could be more Irish than shamrocks and a leprechaun’s pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?  I combined these traditional Irish symbols into a fun quilling design sure to bring the luck of the Emerald Isle to all those who quill it or are lucky enough to receive it.

 

I dressed the quilling up with green glitter on the shamrocks and filled the pot with flat-back crystals for the gold.  A piece of variegated ribbon stapled in place finishes the tag.

 

You’ll find the free quilling pattern for this lucky design, along with instructions for creating the tag and the card I put it on, in the next newsletter.  So, if you haven’t already subscribed to “The Art of Quilling News,” be sure to sign up today.  (You’ll find the enrollment form in the upper right-hand corner.)

 

I leave you with this traditional Irish blessing: