Bonus Post: March 17, 2014

St. Patrick's Day D.I.Y.s

Hello ladies! Seeing how it's St. Patrick's day and all, I figured I'd do a little bonus post for you guys with some fun recipes, nail ideas, and crafts that you can do for St. Patrick's day. :)

1. Green Velvet Bars
These bars are super cute and really delicious! They would  be a fun thing to make with any younger siblings in your house. :)
Ingredients:
CAKE:1½ cups sugar

• 1⅓ cups oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. vinegar
• 2½ cups flour
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 TBL cocoa powder
• 1 oz bottle green food coloring
• FROSTING:
• 1 cube butter – softened
• 1 cube cream cheese – softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

 Instructions

1. For Cake:
2. In a mixing bowl mix together sugar and oil. Mix in eggs. In a small bowl mix together buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar and food coloring. In another bowl sift together dry ingredients. Add wet and dry ingredients into sugar mixture alternating ⅓ dry and then ½ wet, ⅓ dry then the remaining wet, etc. Ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until all is just incorporated. Do not over mix. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a jelly roll pan really well. Pour batter into jelly roll pan and spread evenly. Bake 18-22 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
3. For Frosting:
4. Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until smooth. Spread gently and evenly on top of cake.

2. Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are so delicious! They are a nice change from just putting green food dye in regular Chocolate Chip cookies. ;)
Ingredients:

• 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix 
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened  
•  1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract  
•  6 to 8 drops green food color 
• 1 egg 
• 1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks 

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks. 
2.   Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. 
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.

3. Clover Nails
These nails were super fun to do! And if you are like me and constantly forget to wear green, fear no more! By doing your nails you have green, therefore no one can pinch you. (Now aren't you glad I taught you my trick? )
Supplies needed:

•  Nail doter tool
• two different shade of green
• toothpick  
• clear coat

Directions:

1. First apply your darker shade of nail polish to your nails and let dry.
2. Then taking your doter tool and make eight dots on your index finger.
3. Make sure the dots are arranged in a way that they form four groups of two. Theses groups will be the main outline of your clover.
4. Take the smaller side of your dotting tool and put one dot under you two larger dots. After you have done this, you nail should look like it has four triangles having their points face each other  in the center. (If this is confusing to you look at the picture. :P It's always easier for me to repeat something after I see it done by another person. )
5. Take a tooth pick and fill in the extra blank spaces of your triangle shapes, so it should look like you have again four triangles with their points facing each other in the middle. 
6. After you have filled in your triangle take you toothpick and connect all your triangle points to each other to form a cross. 
7. Go over the lines you have made two times to make them more defined.
8. Finally draw a stem down to the end of your nail to finish your clover! :)

 4. Felt Clovers
These fun little accessories are another great project to do with any younger siblings/relatives you have. :)
Supplies:

• wool felt
• needle and thread
• blank barrette

 Directions:

1. cut 4 leaves in the shape shown above. mine measured about 3/4 of an inch tall, and nearly an inch wide.  
2. sew the leaves together as shown above, and tie the threads together tightly at the ends.
3.  sew to a barrette, and clip on your little lucky charm.

 5. Hanging Paper Four Leaf Clovers

Supplies:

•  green cardstock paper, 
• white paper with rainbow colored words
• straight edge cutter or scissors
• ruler
• glue stick
• stapler 
• ribbon

Directions:

1. Cut paper into strips. You’ll need 4 strips of white paper, 4 strips of green paper and a smaller green strip to make one Four Leaf Clover.
2. Measurements: The white paper with rainbow colored words – 9 inches tall and 3/4 inch wide.
   The green paper – 8 inches tall and 1 inch wide.
   The green (which is the inner part) is going to be wider but shorter than the white. Also cut a green strip 4 inches tall and 1 inch wide to use as the clover’s stem.
3. Fold each strip in half (except the 4 inches tall green strip for clover stem). Center the white strip onto the green strip and line up ends. I glued the white to the green only on the ends.
4. Take the ends and hold together to form a heart. Staple. That’s the first clover leaf. Also glue the point of each heart – green paper to white paper at bottom point.
5.  Then repeat the steps to make a clover leaf heart 3 more times. There will be 4 hearts total.
6.   Glue three of the hearts together. Then glue one side of the forth heart.
7.   Place glue on both sides of the bottom part of  the 4 inch green stem. hen place it in between and secure.
8. The last thing to do is attach yellow ribbon to the four leaf clover to hang up. :)

Free printable rainbow words - here 


Hope you guys enjoyed this post! Comment down below any St. Patrick's day traditions your family has! Makes sure to like, share and subscribe!!! :D Have a wonderful day!
Much love,
Isabelle <3