Sunday, March 12, 2017

Guinness(esque) Bottle and Shamrock Shake(esque) Garland

For St. Patrick's Day, I wanted decor that went beyond just shamrocks and leprechauns.

What truly evokes the meaning of the holiday, at least here in the U.S.?

The answer lies typically in getting shit-faced and - as with practically every holiday - looking for an item that screams, 'Yes, this is the all-encompassing, immediately recognizable symbol of (fill-in-the-blank holiday)!'

So, I came to the conclusion that Guinness(esque) bottles and Shamrock Shake(esque) cups would make a fine garland.

What follows is my process:

I started out by making templates on graph-ruled index cards.

(c) 2017 Richard Buran
Before I go full in on something like this, I'll produce some prototypes. This gives me a good idea of what the end product will look like, tell me where I need to make shape / proportion corrections and tell me whether I really want to make a dozen more of these things.

(c) 2017 Richard Buran
From the prototype phase, I'll use the templates to cut all the necessary pieces from felt squares.

(c) 2017 Richard Buran
(c) 2017 Richard Buran

Then I do just about the worst hand-stitching anyone has ever seen. However, it does the job.

(c) 2017 Richard Buran

(c) 2017 Richard Buran

Moving on, I stuff all the sewn bottle and cups with fiber fill.

(c) 2017 Richard Buran

(c) 2017 Richard Buran
After hand-stitching all the bases closed, I add the embellishments - gold stickers, plastic drinking straws and felt shamrocks.

(c) 2017 Richard Buran

(c) 2017 Richard Buran
Finally, I thread a green twine through the backs of the bottles and cups to form the completed garland. Both the bottle and the cup (including the straw) measure 5" in height.


(c) 2017 Richard Buran

One more thing: Should the two items depicted in the garland be consumed in tandem, they are sure to 'drive the snakes out of Ireland,' if you know what I mean.

A Happy St. Patrick's Day to all.