Supply list
Several leaves both sizes
Small piece of ribbon
3 wire ties cut in half and painted green
Beer bottle top
or similarly sized shallow plastic lid
(this will be the back of the brooch
don't worry it wont show)
Small to medium sized safety pin
Green craft paint
Yellow 3D paint (optional)
White glue and paint brush
Hot glue gun
scraps of green and yellow paper
scissors small fine point
St Patricks Day Shamrock Bouquet Brooch
Brooch Base
Why are we using a lid for the base of the brooch, why not just build up several layers of cardstock ? this would be fine if we were making a flat piece that was not meant to be worn , but we are going to make the brooch into a slightly concave shape so it fits better against the chest of its wearer also for this reason to aid in opening and closure of the pin it is preferable if it is allowed to stand a little forward of its wearer. I have chosen a common safety pin for the brooches fastening mechanism not just because it is a common item that almost everyone has around the house but also because if I can use a safety pin rather than the flat bar or circular jewelry findings supposedly made for such pieces as this I will, as in time the little clasps on the fidings always give way ,I can't count the number of brooches that have either lost or been damaged in this fashion ,where as I have not lost one yet that I have used a safety pin for its closure.
Cut two circles one slightly bigger than the other from scraps of green paper, stick the top of your bottle cap onto the center of the larger one, snip the smaller circle once for easier fitting and glue it with white glue to cover the inside of your cap so apart from the handle you've got a little cup and saucer
Cut several small squares of card just small enough so to fit into the lid you are using layer 3 or four together sandwiching them with white glue until they almost reach the brim of the lid but not quite.
Take your safety pin and bend it slightly, making sure it is the back of the pin you bend not the front see image.
Going back to our cup and saucer, fringe the saucer around the base of cap fold all cut pieces in, over lapping them where ever necessary so outside of bottle top is completely covered in green scrap paper. Similarly cover the inside again over the top of your little cardboard squares.
Take the safety pin so bent portion touches the top of uppermost card square and glue into place with large mound of hot glue . Cut several thin strips of green paper cover them with white glue and layer them over the lower half of safety pin see image , do this until you have encased the pin in several layers but ensuring not that many that the pin will not close.
Take your little bundle of twist ties and cut them in half, paint them green if they are not green already, an alternative to painting them and it produces a much nicer result but is extremely time consuming is to wrap the wires very tightly in thick green thread adding a tiny spot of glue here and there as you wind on your thread.
Grasp the bundle in the center and fasten them together with another twist tie. Bend over the top of each twist tie so it forms a mini walking stick, with a blob of hot glue fix the bent portions to the back of the brooch, cover liberally with hot glue then cover all with strips of green paper and white glue so everything is neatly hidden and secure.
At this point you can touch up the paint on the shamrock stems if any has rubbed away while tying them into a bundle, don't worry if your safety pin protrudes beyond your lid this will all be hidden in the next step
