Items you will need
- Printer
- 8½-by-11 white paper
- Construction paper (assorted colors)
- Scissors
- Glue
- Markers
Leprechauns are a fairly simple festive craft project that you (and/or your children) can make to recognize and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. You can create your leprechaun from colored pieces of construction paper.
Print predrawn template pieces for the leprechaun body, hat, arms and legs on sheets of 8½-by-11 pieces of white paper. Cut out each piece; these are your tracing templates. You can also mount them on soft cardboard to make sturdier tracing templates. Print a colored version of the leprechaun face template on another 8½-by-11 piece of paper, and cut that piece out.
Trace the leprechaun hat, body and arm templates on green sheets of construction paper, and cut out all pieces. Trace leg templates on black construction paper, and cut out both pieces.
Glue the printed leprechaun face onto the body piece so that your leprechaun’s head (face) sits proportionally atop its body. Glue the leprechaun’s hat onto its head. Position the hat as you wish. Glue the arm pieces to the left and right sides of the body, and then glue the legs to the bottom portion of the body template.
Allow your leprechaun to dry for at least 24 hours to ensure that glued pieces will not come apart. Once your new leprechaun is dried, you may display it on your refrigerator or bedroom wall for others to admire.
Tips
Older children can cut out free-form shapes for their leprechaun faces and beard instead of using a provided template with the face and beard already drawn on. They can choose from an orange, brown or tan construction paper to cut out a circle or an oval for their leprechaun’s face.
Warnings
Parents and teachers working with younger children should cut out all the required pieces first. Children who have not learned how to use scissors properly may incur potentially serious injuries. Also assist them in gluing a face onto their template, and then let them draw facial features on the leprechaun.
About the Author
As a former online magazine editor, Charisse Esmeralde ran her own publication for six years. She joined Demand Studios as a writer in 2009, and her articles have been published in eHow.com. Esmeralde is also an expert navigator around MySpace and Facebook communities.
