Shamrock Shutters

It was about this time last year that I had found out that I was pregnant and was going through blood draws and taking progesterone trying to find out if I had miscarried again, or if I had a viable pregnancy. It was a tough time for me, and a very busy time! On top of all of that pregnancy stress, I was also in charge of planning a party for the launch of the Cricut Explore machine (which is awesome, by the way) and I was feeling overwhelmed to say the least. I was talking with a friend of mine about all of the things that were happening in my life, and the next thing I knew, she was at my house helping me. I had mentioned to her that I just wanted everything to look just right at my house, but that my mantle was completely empty. I knew what I wanted, I just didn’t have the time or energy to do it. My friend used what I said to her and created these amazing Shamrock Shutters for me that I will love forever.

I had some 1X4″ and 1X6″ cedar fencing and some 1X2 pieces of wood that she used to create the actual shutter. My compound miter saw (chop saw) and nail guns made this simple to put together. We used the Cricut Explore to cut out a four leaf clover shape to use as a stencil using vinyl. It made the lines nice and crisp and the clean up simple. Once the shamrocks were in place, she sanded them down a little bit to give it a more worn look and ta-da!

I pulled the shutters out this week and put them up on my mantle. Every time I look at them, I get a little bit teary thinking about this friend and her willingness to help me with something that  wasn’t that important to the success of the party, but she knew it was something that would make me happy.