DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Leprechaun Trap

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

We made our first trap out of a kleenex box.  Our second trap design was made using paper templates.  This is our third leprechaun trap plan and is made using a coffee can.

Materials:

• clean coffee can with lid
• green paint
• paint brush
• glitter glue, markers or crayons to decorate the box
• scissors
• kleenex
• green tissue paper.
• light cardboard (like a cereal box)
• glue 
• bait (we suggest Skittles, chocolate gold coins or marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal.)

Instructions:

• Cut a hole in the centre of the coffee can lid.
• Paint the outside of the can green as well as the top and edge of the lid.
• Let dry.
• lightly crumple a few pieces of Kleenex in the bottom of the box to make a cushion so the leprechaun will not get hurt when falling into the trap.
• Flip the lid over and tape a piece of green tissue paper to the bottom of the lid so that it covers the hole completely.
• Put the lid on the top of the can to close it.
• Decorate your can with glitter glue, drawings or print some of the shamrock or rainbow templates below and glue them to the outside of the can.  If you print the black & white templates you can color them yourself before you glue them to the can.
• Print the ladder template and color it if you used the black and white version.
• Glue the template onto a piece of light construction paper (like a cereal box) before you cut it out.
• Cut out the two pieces of the ladder template.
• Glue the straight piece onto the rungs on the other template piece to create your ladder.
• Set your trap the night before St. Patrick's Day!
• Put the can somewhere you think the leprechaun is most likely to see it.
• Lean the ladder against the can so the leprechaun has a way to the top. 
     
• Carefully place some bait on the top of the can.  Skittles, marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal or chocolate gold coins would make great bait but you can use whatever you think leprechauns might like most.
• Go to bed. 
• If you get lucky you will find a leprechaun in your trap the next morning.

Craft Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Template for decorations       (color)   or   (B&W)

Template for rainbows            (color)   or   (B&W)

Template for shamrocks        (color)   or   (B&W)

Template for ladder                (color)   or   (B&W)

Printable version of these instructions