Me Father, He Was Orange and Me Mother, She Was Green

Teaser. *cue stripper music*

Ok, that's not true. Me mother was Orange. My grandfather was Green, though, so there's that. Any ol' way, I posted this teaser on Facebook earlier yesterday and promised a post to go along with it. To hold me accountable if I didn't update. It's tomorrow. But this is progress, people! And I blame me mother for my tardiness. We went to Target. Shenanigans ensued. I fed my peeps McDonald's for dinner because I didn't make it home early enough to cook. True story. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about St. Patrick's Day! Some more, I mean. Let's talk about it some more.

So, I'm Irish. Me ma (as she'll be known henceforth) almost named me O'tilly. They'd have called me Oat for short. I'm not even making that up. Literally, on her birthing bed, she changed her mind. Granted, we're protestant (except for my grandfather's side), but we're also American. So of COURSE I celebrate St. Patrick's Day. With gusto! And whiskey. And decorations...which is the reason you're here. The teaser above is part of my mantle which I've changed up as often as possible.

I mostly used things I already owned. The apothecary jar and candle holders are mantle staples. I change out what's in the jar and the ribbon around the candles as I get bored the occasion calls.

The books and beer glasses came from my already existing collection. The Irish books have the perfect style/color for the scheme already. I added a copy of Great Expectations because of the green cover. Considering adding a few more green books, but we'll see. The beer glasses were filled with water and green food coloring with some floating candles.

The wooden shamrock garland was an impulse buy in Ross a few years back. I've never really been able to do anything with it before this mantle. The length just wasn't quite right for anything in my old homes. Seeing it now, I think it needs more orange. A trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics for some ribbon might be in order.

Pictured: less coinage than you'd think 2 lbs would be :/

I wasn't sure what I was going to put in the jar...I had a few ideas and wasn't sure which was my fave or which was the most practical given the size of the thing (and by practical, I mean cheap). I ended up buying two pounds of these chocolate coins, not because they were my fave (I hadn't yet made that decision) or the most practical, but because they were convenient. Like, I was in the grocery store and they had them in the loose candy aisle, so I bought them because if I let myself think about it, I'd never decide and my mantle would never be finished. But really though, they ARE fun, are they not? SN: two pounds of coins was NOT enough to make it look full enough. I wadded up newspaper, covered it in masking tape, and put that at the bottom of the jar. I placed the coins systematically around the "ball" to add bulk. Now it appears half full rather than a quarter full. W00t!

Now this...THIS is my baby. I made it myself. I can't paint or draw or anything like that. This is the closest I've come to being an artist lol I'll post tomorrow about HOW I did it (spoiler: it was totes through the help of another blog. Tune in tomorrow to see whose!!!!). I won't post a tutorial, as the original does a fine job of explaining it (and I'll link you to it, never fear!), but I will share some tips and pictures from my own experience.

In the upcoming week(s), I plan to share some of my favorite St. Patty's Irish recipes. I make the same thing every year -- and no, it is NOT corned beef and cabbage because hello...corned beef?! Hold your breath...it's not Irish, although there is some debate as to whether what I DO make is Irish, but we'll cross that bridge later. How do YOU celebrate the holiday?