This leprechaun craft uses a paper plate and construction paper to make a St. Patrick's Day craft or mask.

If you cut out holes instead of making eyes, you can convert your leprechaun craft to a leprechaun mask.  Attach a paint stir stick or tongue depressor to allow your child to hold it up to their face.

You may also like the template version of our paper plate leprechaun.

Materials:

• paper plate,
   
• Optional:  pink, light green or light orange paint and paint brush.
• scissors,
• glue,
• black marker
• Construction paper (green, black and orange).
   
• Optional:  You can substitute large wiggly eyes instead of making paper eyes.
• Optional FOR MASK:  paint stir stick, thin strip of wood or tongue depressor.

Instructions:

• Paint the bottom of the paper plate flesh coloured (leprechaun flesh could be many colours like pink, brown, light orange or light green) or you can leave your plate white.
• Draw a mouth with a black marker.  Cut two circles from white paper for eyes and a green circle nose.
• Cut some rectangles from green and black paper to assemble a hat

• Cut strips of orange or red construction paper (about 1 inch wide and 3 or 4 inches long) and roll them around a pencil to curl them.  Glue them all the way around the plate as hair and a beard (except where the hat goes).  You can make some smaller curls (1/2 inch wide by 2 inches long) and glue those under the hat as bangs.

• Optional:  If making a mask, use masking tape or duct tape to attach a thin strip of wood, a tongue depressor or a paint stir stick (often free at paint supply and home repair stores -- no more than $1 -- we get dad to pick one up now and then when he's at home depot admiring the tools *grin*)