Top of the morning to you, and welcome to another Wacky Workshops project,  St Patrick’s Day crafts.

These fun and easy projects use a minimum of materials – most of which you probably have on hand.

As an added bonus, there is a free, printable maze. You will find the download link at the end of the post.

DID YOU KNOW?

The phrase, ‘the luck of the Irish’, did not actually originate in Ireland but is an old mining expression from 19^th century America.

It referred to the good luck of the Irish and American Irish miners, inferring their success was more do to with luck than brains.

I’m a big believer in making my own luck. Here are 7 tips to do just that.

However, if you haven’t found your pot of gold yet, here is a fun project to make your own.

ST PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS – STAMPING FUN

What do some wine corks and a capsicum have in common?

They both work wonderfully for shamrock stamping.

 ST PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS – EASY
RAINBOW ART

 ST PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS –

LEPRECHAUN FUN

DID YOU KNOW?

Leprechauns are a protected species, under European law.

Sliabh Foy Loopit was named a protected area for leprechauns in 2010 by the EU and visitors to the area will see signs along the way announcing this.

The signs say; “Leprechauns (Little People) are protected in this area. Please tread lightly. Hunters and Fortune Seekers will be prosecuted.”

ST PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS – LEPRECHAUN WALL HANGER

This is super easy and the accordion fold arms are great for promoting fine motor skills. Younger children may need help with cutting.

MATERIALS

• Green, yellow and white paper. Don’t have coloured paper? Get the kids to colour it with paint or crayons first.
• Black cardboard. You can use paper for the hat but it can end up flopping over.
• Red wool or string
• Scissors
• Glue stick or sticky tape
• Google eyes – or draw your own.

METHOD

• Start by making a paper lantern with the green paper. Fold the sheet in half (shortest ends together). Cut lines from the fold to 2 -3 cm from the edge of the paper. Unfold and then roll the paper so that the longer ends overlap slightly. Glue or tape together.
• Cut two long strips from the green paper and fold accordion-style (fold one way, then the other way) from the shortest end.
• Glue or tape these to the lantern ‘body’ for arms.
• Use a small bowl or tin to trace a circle on the white paper. Cut out and glue to the top of the body to make the face.
• Cut some strips of red string or wool and glue them to the top of the face. You can cut out more to make a beard if you choose.
• Cut out a hat shape from the black cardboard and glue it to the top of the face, allowing the ‘hair’ to stick out from under.
• Next, cut a large bow shape from the yellow paper and glue it to the neck.
• Cut a small square from the yellow paper – that will fit on the hat. Fold it in half and cut another square from the fold to make the hat buckle and glue it into place.
• Cut some small half oval shapes and glue them to the end of the arms for the hands.
• Draw on the facial features.

ST PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS – MASK

METHOD

• If you have a paper plate on hand, it’s as easy as cutting the centre out. The easiest way is to fold the plate in half and make some cuts with scissors from the fold. Unfold the plates and place the scissors in the cuts to continue cutting out the circle. If you don’t have a plate, use a dinner plate to cut a circle from thin cardboard – paper is a little too thin and floppy for this.
• Cut the hat and buckle shapes from paper and glue them to the top of the plate.
• Glue a large craft stick – or even a twig – to the bottom of the mask for a handle.

ST PATRICK’S DAY CRAFTS – LEPRECHAUN HAT

Another fast, fun and easy craft, this little hat would make a cute table topper. You could add the little paper shamrock on a pipe cleaner as a name tag and fill the hat with gold chocolate coins or other goodies.

And all you need for this one is paper, a cardboard roll, scissors and glue. If you want to add the paper shamrock but don’t have a pipe cleaner, attach it using thin wire, or a large paper clip straightened out.

METHOD

• Cover the roll with glue.
• Place the roll in the centre of the paper, near one of the short edges. Roll the paper, from the short end, around the cardboard tube until it overlaps slightly.
• Cut excess paper away and glue the overlap.
• Tuck the ends of the paper into the tube.
• Cut a circle, slightly larger than the cardboard tube opening, from the paper and glue to the bottom of the hat.
• Make the hat buckle and glue into place.
• Add the paper shamrock if desired.

BONUS ST PATRICK’S DAY MAZE

The gold is within arm’s reach with this fun St. Patrick’s Day Maze for your little ones.  For more creative learning resources, go to Education.com! You can even download the answer sheet.

Happy crafting, and have a gleeful week, Tamuria.