The Four-Leaf Clover: Two Cards, Years Apart
- Shannon Cyr
- Mar 12
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 27
A look inside the studio as a St. Patrick’s Day clover design takes shape—from familiar Irish traditions and an early handmade card to today’s original paper art design.
Studio Note: This post documents an exploration from my design process. The artwork shown represents prototypes and works in progress. Some designs eventually become Mainely Cards. Others remain studio experiments and are never released.
My First Four-Leaf Clover Card
One of the first handmade greeting cards I made featured a four-leaf clover.
At the time, I was still learning my tools and experimenting with what paper could do. I paired my Cricut Maker with a Sizzix die—partly out of curiosity and partly because those were the tools I knew how to use.
The four-leaf clover itself was cut with the Cricut. I found a design I liked and scaled it to the sizes I wanted, layering two different papers and adding a small bumper underneath so the clover would lift slightly off the card.
The wording, “Good Luck,” came from a Sizzix die. I wasn’t confident enough to cut lettering with the Cricut yet, and I was still feeling precious about paper.
When I finished assembling the card, I showed it to Michael. He loved it. He also suggested adding an exclamation point to make the message more declarative.
He was right. The exclamation point immediately made the message feel more alive. I added a small green jewel for the punctuation, partly for interest, partly for dimension, and partly because I love sparkle.
I was incredibly proud of that card.
Looking at it now, I can see all the things I didn’t know. The card itself is an irregular size, the paper has a disturbingly smooth finish, and the color isn’t quite white. More like eggshell. None of that registered then. I was simply focused on one question: can I even make a handmade greeting card?
Back then I didn’t understand anything about cardstock. I ordered packs of blank folded cards and envelopes online without any real understanding of paper weight, texture, color, or how those choices affect the final piece. I also hadn’t yet learned that embellishments like that small jewel can create real challenges in healthcare settings.
Today, that's one of the reasons I have quality standards for the cards donated to Wicked Good Cards.
Despite all of its flaws, what I feel most isn’t embarrassment. It’s love. Love for the version of me who was willing to try.
Back to the Four-Leaf Clover
Years later, the four-leaf clover returned in a very different form.
I had been experimenting with building images from individual pieces of paper. I've always been drawn to the way individual pieces can come together to create a single form. The four-leaf clover felt like an interesting place to explore that idea.
For this design, I leaned into the floral character of the clover.
I kept the familiar four-leaf form, but instead of treating it as a single solid shape as I did with my first card, I separated each leaf into segments that radiate outward from the center.
From there, I shaped the interior lines so they flowed through the leaf. I kept the segments rounded and slightly asymmetrical to soften the clover and help make it look more organic.
I added a curved stem to draw the eye upward into the center, creating a subtle sense of movement. The intention was to create a clover that suggests growth and bloom.
Cutting the Clover
Once the design was digitized, it was time to test it on paper.
I rely on the Cricut Maker 4 to cut the tiny paper components that make up my designs. For these clover card prototypes, I used emerald green no-shed glitter cardstock. I love how it changes in the light, adding to the sense of movement.
Once the cut is complete, the design is barely visible. Look closely at the image below and you can see the faint cut lines. Each piece remains embedded in the sheet of glitter cardstock. The pieces only begin to appear during the next step: weeding.
Weeding is the process of removing the excess paper around the design and lifting the individual pieces from the cutting mat. The name sounds like gardening, which honestly isn’t far off—and it’s just as satisfying. You work slowly, lifting away the extra bits while trying not to disturb the pieces you actually need.
With segmented paper designs, patience is essential. The pieces sit close together, and no-shed glitter cardstock has a thick backing layer that can easily separate at sharp angles. If you rush the weeding process, the glitter layer can tear away from the backing and ruin the piece.
Assembling the Clover
Once the paper pieces are safely freed from the cutting mat, I can exhale and settle into the creative flow of building the clover, one piece of paper at a time.
It’s a lot like solving a small, timed puzzle.
Each piece has to be lifted without bending or tearing, and positioned precisely on the card. Then a tiny amount of glue is added and the piece is placed. Too much glue creates a glob that can spread to neighboring pieces or leave unwanted texture on the card. Too little and the piece sticks to your fingers, your shirt, or whatever happens to be closest. There’s a short window of time to adjust placement before the glue sets. Once it dries, that’s it. There’s no shifting it or trying again.
With each piece successfully added, the design becomes clearer and the clover gradually takes its final form.
The Four-Leaf Clover Remade
With the final pieces in place, the clover finally comes into focus.
The emerald glitter cardstock handled the cuts beautifully, and assembling the pieces was as satisfying as I had hoped.
I was genuinely happy with how the design turned out. It worked even better than I expected. The clover had the movement and softness I hoped to create, and the emerald glitter cardstock caught the light in a way that brought the clover to life.
After finishing the first card, I assembled a second one. When I’m working with segmented paper design, I like to make more than one card to see if I can reproduce the result.
Seeing the two cards together confirmed it. The design held up a second time, and the spacing and alignment were just as precise.
One small surprise appeared once the cards were finished. The center of the clover reads almost like a perfect circle—something I hadn’t planned, it's an unexpected detail I love.
Two Four-Leaf Clovers, Years Apart
Placing these four clover cards side by side tells the story of my growth as a paper artist.
When I made the first two cards, creating original paper art felt completely out of reach. I was learning my tools, experimenting with materials, and discovering what paper could do.
Years later, I designed every piece of the clover myself. Looking at the cards together makes that progression visible in a way I never noticed while it was happening.
The Four-Leaf Clover That Made the Collection
The emerald green clover became the first design in the Mainely Cards St. Patrick's Day collection.
Seeing it alongside the first clover I ever made reminds me how much can change through years of practice, experimentation, and simply continuing to make things. In a way, the clover brings the story full circle from the St. Patrick's Day cards I sent as a child to the ones I now create in the studio.
Mainely Yours,
Shannon
