Lucky Little Leprechauns DIY

Our Irish (googly) eyes are smilin’ with this fun St. Patrick’s Day craft! Create these little leprechauns as a March take-home project for young children in elementary schools, homeschools, and day care centers.

Supplies

• Houndstooth Green Sparkle Plus Bolder Borders®  T85426
• Orange Terrific Trimmers®  T9880
• Gold Metallic Terrific Trimmers®  T91252
• Black Bolder Borders®  T85301
• Bolder Borders® (any color or style, this will not show on finished craft)
• Googly eyes
• Markers
• Scissors, tape, and glue

Directions

You may want to precut your supplies if making this project with young children. Each leprechaun stands about 5½ inches tall. We've listed supply measurements below, but feel free to adjust yours as you'd like. You'll need one of each piece listed below:

• Crown: 7¾-inch strip
• Top: 2-inch circle
• Brim: 2½-inch circle
• Band: ½-inch x 7¾-inch strip
• Square buckle: ½-inch x ½-inch square

• Base / face: 7¾-inch strip
• Beard: 2¼-inch x 7-inch strip
• Hair: 2¼-inch x 6-inch strip
• Extra hair: 1¼-inch x 6-inch strip (optional)

Create your hat: 

• Roll the long border strip into a cylinder (color facing out) for the crown of the hat. Overlap about one inch and tape together. 
• Tape a 2-inch circle on top of the hat and a 2½-inch circle on the bottom of the hat (for the brim). 
• Create a strap and buckle for the hat using Black Bolder Borders® and Gold Metallic Terrific Trimmers®.
• Make the buckle as complex as you like. We cut slits ¼ inch from the left and right edge of the gold square and laced the black border through, but you can also simply tape your buckle square on top of the black border. You'll want to color the middle of the gold buckle black with a marker or cut a window out of the square so the black band shows through the center. Your choice!
• When finished, wrap your strap around the hat and tape to hold.

Create your leprechaun's face: 

• Set your hat aside.
• Roll a strip of Bolder Borders® into a tube with the color facing in. Overlap about an inch and tape to hold. The design on this piece will not show so go ahead and use any scrap pieces you have for this part of the project. (We use Bolder Borders® because they are sturdy and are precut to the perfect height.) 
• Cut each orange strip along the scalloped side to make a wavy fringe. Leave the straight edge intact so the strips hold together.
• Gently roll or bend the fringed trimmer ends so they curl upward.
• Cut a small U shape out of the middle of the longest trimmer strip. This area will be for your leprechaun’s face. Tape or glue the top of this strip around the middle of the blank tube you created.
• Position another orange trimmer flush with the top edge of the tube, and wrap it around the back of the leprechaun. Tape or glue in place. The open ends of this strip should line up with the U shape of the bottom trimmer. If you choose, create a third, shorter layer of hair and glue into place in this same way.
• Give your leprechaun a big smile and glue on googly eyes. Fun!
• Place the hat on and tape your leprechaun together.

Place your little leprechauns on shelves, bookcases, and tables to bring a little luck and lots of smiles to March decorating themes in school classrooms and libraries.

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