St. Patrick's Day is celebrated annually on March 17 and for many, this holiday brings with it not only the celebration of Irish heritage but also the simple joys of Spring. The weather begins to change, our days get longer, and everything in nature seems to appreciate all there is that is green.
We have been crafting every other Wednesday with Alex Worstell and the News 15 Morning Show and this week wanted to do a craft to celebrate this festive holiday. We have two great ideas that you can do to commemorate the St. Patrick's Day holiday: A Leprechaun Flower Pot Hat and a Pot of Gold. Both of these crafts can become keepsakes for you to use as decoration each year.
We love doing crafts as children because it allows us to express our creativity. As we get older we sometimes lose that impulse to create or use our artistic talents. However, I have found that crafting regularly allows me to get out some pent-up energy and keep those creative juices flowing! Crafts can also do the same for our children. These crafts are inexpensive and can be done using items around the house as well. You can leave the kids to do these on their own as way to get a little "me" time or plan an afternoon of quality time with them.
 Image Credit: Tracie Ysaguire |
Leprechaun Flower Pot Hat
What you'll need:
☘️Small clay flower pot ( You can also use a styrofoam cup, plastic cup, or in our case here in New Iberia a lightly colored plastic Mardi Gras cup.)
☘️Paint specifically green (any shade of green you like), black, and maybe white or gold
☘️Paint brushes
☘️Construction paper, particularly gold or yellow
☘️Scissors
☘️Glitter Foam Alphabet Stickers
☘️Glitter Glue Stick Pens or Loose Glitter (If Mom is brave)
☘️Paint tray or paper plate
☘️Hot glue or project glue
☘️Clean up wipes and napkins
☘️Old newspaper or towels to catch the spills... just in case!
You will create your own Leprechaun hat that can be used for decoration, to plant a small flower, or even as a pen cup holder for Mom or Dad's desk. First, turn your pot or cup upside down and paint it the green color of your choice. Kelly Green is the typical color for St. Patrick's Day decorations, but there are different shades of green to choose from. One bottle of paint from a dollar store will be more than enough for your Leprechaun hat if you decide to stick to one shade. We found that painting the hat side to side rather than up and down was easiest and allowed for a cleaner look once it was dry.
There really is no right or wrong way to do these crafts! Feel free to mix different shades of green until you get the desired color. Also if you desire to add some sparkle to your creation, mix in a small amount of loose glitter or glitter glue to your paint. You can paint directly over the green on the pot with a coat of glitter glue or mix the paint and lose glitter in a paint tray or on a paper plate and then give your hat an extra coat.
Once that dries, then you are ready to add the black band around your Leprechaun hat. We painted right above the rim of our pot with two coats of black paint. Let that dry.
While your hat is drying, you want to make your buckle for the hat. We love using the Glitter Foam Alphabet Stickers for our crafts. They usually come with letters, numbers, and a few other shapes. We used some of the letters and numbers to make the buckle by cutting them up and re-attaching them to make a square.
You can also cut out a buckle from yellow construction paper. Once your hat is dry, you simply glue the buckle to the hat. You can use crafting glue or hot glue for an even better attachment. Now you have a festive Leprechaun hat to use for your St. Patrick's Day decorations.
 Image Credit: Tracie Ysaguire |
Pot of Gold over the Rainbow
What you'll need:
🌈Small clay flower pot ( You can also use a small styrofoam cup, plastic cup, or in our case here in New Iberia a lightly colored plastic Mardi Gras cup. In this case the smaller the cup, the better. )
🌈Small rocks or glass marbles
🌈Elbow macaroni noodles
🌈Paint, specifically green (any shade of green you like), black, and maybe white or gold
🌈Paint brushes
🌈Pipe cleaners
🌈Glitter Glue Stick Pens or Loose Glitter (If Mom is brave)
🌈Construction paper, particularly gold or yellow
🌈Paint tray or paper plate
🌈Glue
🌈Cotton balls
🌈Clean up wipes and napkins
🌈Old newspaper or towels to catch the spills... just in case!
Who doesn't love finding a pot of gold? We loved making this craft with Alex and the morning crew so I know that you will enjoy this and so will your children. Start by taking two elbow macaroni and gluing them to the sides of your pot or cup. The intention is to create handles on the sides of the pot. Let that dry.
Then, paint your pot or cup, any color you choose, black or any shade of green, painting over your macaroni handles as well. You can use the same technique we mentioned earlier to add the glitter effect to your pot. Let that dry.
You will want to now start creating the gold for your pot. There are a few different ways you can create gold nuggets. You can use yellow construction paper and crumble them into small bits. You can paint glass marbles like we did a mix of yellow and gold. Or, you can get some smaller rocks from the driveway or around the yard and paint those. Put those aside and let them dry.
While your pot and gold nuggets are drying, you can make your rainbow with different colored pipe cleaners. Simply grab a few colors and twist them together. Once they are wound together bend them in the shape of a rainbow. Set that aside so you can begin working on your cloud.
Grab a few cotton balls, about 3 or four, and fluff them up. Use some craft glue to hold them together. Then, wrap them around one end of your rainbow of pipe cleaners, using more glue to keep them in place.
Now that your pot and handles are dry, turn it over with the open side facing up. Place the end of your rainbow that does not have the cloud as far down as you can and begin to cover it with as many elbow macaroni noodles as you can. The macaroni noodles will serve as an anchor to hold the rainbow and cloud in place. As you get to the top of the pot, leave some room so you can begin adding your gold. You want your shiny nuggets of gold to easily be seen!
 St. Patrick's Day Crafts with News 15 Image Credit Mia Barletto |
We always try to create some easy, inexpensive ways for you to get crafty with the kids. If you try these at home, please share your creations with us on social! Tag us at one of the following:
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