I have a "knack" for finding four leaf clovers. "Lucky" is a word that many use when they see me reach down and pick one up. I have always been able to walk through a patch of clovers and find a four leaf without even trying. I started collecting a long time ago and had 100s pressed in an old dictionary. I finally got tired of them and tossed them. I regret it now, but there is nothing for it but to start all over.
So I decided to put this ability to the test and challenged myself to make something with it. I had bought a bag of bottle caps several months ago intending to make magnets for the Ohio Meetup, and changed my design. These caps have been sitting on a shelf since then, lonesome and collecting dust.
My initial though was to collect four leaf clovers, press them and make bookmarks or pins of some kind; However, once I saw the pressed clovers I threw that out the window. They just weren't pretty.
So I changed my idea.
Bottle caps
Four leaf clovers
Liquid Glass (CTMH)
White cardstock
Creative Memories Circle Punch
First, I punched out white circles and adhered them into the bottle caps with the liquid glass. Then I went hunting for clovers. As I found them, I would add a dab of liquid glass into the bottle cap and used a stickpin to arrange the petals. This I let dry so it would grab the clover and keep it in place, while I continued hunting. Once that was dry, I covered the entire center of the bottle cap with a thin layer of liquid glass, and repeated it once it was dry popping air bubbles as I went (I couldn't get them all).
Tuesday, I collected 7 clovers; Wednesday, I collected 17 clovers; Thursday I realized I messed up two and ran outside to find two more clovers.
Realizing that these are only okay looking on a necklace or as a charm, I decided to make them into pins and knew they needed "more". I had some animal striped ribbon from Walmart:
Using black thread, I folded the ribbon and slipped a quick stitch straight through all the folds. I pulled it tight and tied it off so it wouldn't fight me as I tried to glue.
I also stitched the two edges together so you wouldn't see the raw ends in the final product.
Next, I used a low temp glue gun to attached a pin back to the back of the ribbon.
Then I used the glue gun to attach the bottle cap to the top of the ribbon. Smushing it down into the ribbon made it fit slightly better.
This is the finished product:
Several of the finished pins:
Since these are crop goodies, I have placed them and some mint candies into a box made from George shapes with Elegant Edges for the sentiment frames. I used my Gypsy to weld and stretch as needed. Each participant will receive this as well as a pot of gold m&ms with rainbow streamers.
I hope you enjoying today's project. Good Luck finding your own Four Leaf Clovers!