Paper Shamrocks

I have no idea where my St. Patrick's day decorations went. They either got lost in the move or are hiding someplace really weird. I wanted to have something up for decoration, so we made paper shamrocks. They were really easy to make! You could make a garland of small ones, hang larger ones on the wall or front door, or even from the ceiling.

You will need:

• Paper (I used 12x12 scrapbook paper)
• Hot glue and glue gun
• Scissors
• Stapler
• If you are like me and can't draw or cut a straight line: ruler and pencil

Directions:

1.   Cut out strips of paper, about 1 inch wide. You will need 2 strips per layer per leaf. (In total you will need 19 strips of paper: 18 for the leaf layers and 1 for the stem.)

2.   For the first/outer layer, cut to the size you want. (Mine was 12 inches long.)

3.   Next cut the strips for the second/middle layer 1 inch smaller. (Mine was 11 inches long.) 

4.   Cut the strips for the third/last layer 2 inches smaller than the first. (Mine was 10 inches long.)

5.   Gather the strips together in this order: small/medium/large/large/medium/small, so that the longest are in the middle and smallest on outside. If you have paper that is only colorful on one side like I did, make sure the colorful side is facing inward.

6.   Make sure the bottoms are even and staple together (or you can hold in place too).

7.   Fold over the strips one at a time, working smallest to longest to form a heart shape.

8.   Line up ends of paper so they are even and staple together.

9.   Make two more hearts to form the three leaves of the shamrock.

10. Hot glue the three points of the hearts together and slide in the stem.

11. Hold in place until set.

12. Hang and enjoy!