Although I find it the quandary of whether or not I should be celebrating the day the “snakes” were sent forth from Ireland (though I do imagine that the Pixies and Leprechauns stayed anyway) I always wear green in self defense (warding off pinches) and often pluck a bouquet from my shamrock pot. This year the shamrocks were not in bloom (I don’t know why–maybe not enough rain until just recently?), so I left them be. However, I found myself walking through the misty, rainy morning to the building next door to the one where I work. On one side of the side walk was a veritable forest of clover. I plucked two hand-fulls and came back to my office, where I have an electric laminator.
I arranged the clover on a piece of card stock, covered them with a heat seal pocket, and ran them through the laminator. A little bit of liquid pooled on the card stock below the cut stems, but I think it worked well enough. I’m not sure how long the clover will last or if the card stock will mold where it is wet through, but I will watch it and let you know.
When I was small my mother used clear contact on four leaf clovers (I’ve never found one of those in my life, by the way) and it kept them fresh for a long time. I thought perhaps heat seal might do a bit better at the pressing/preservation. For now, they are quite pretty, having almost the appearance of a water color painting of shamrocks.
I still have the shamrocks. They yellowed/browned, but they still look like a water color.