4 Simple St. Patrick’s Day crafts for kids

Why should grownups get to have all the fun on St. Patrick’s Day? Make sure all the little ones in your life have a great time this March 17th with some simple yet imaginative craft ideas. We’ve come up with some great ways for kids to get crafty, express their creative side and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style.

4 Fun craft ideas

One of the best things about being a kid is that there are countless opportunities to get creative. No matter the occasion – Easter, Christmas, Halloween – crafts become a way to keep kids happily entertained and occupied. Here are a few ideas that will ensure your little ones have a great time on St. Patrick’s Day.

DIY Shamrocks

What you need: Green construction paper, scissors, green pipe-cleaners, glue and decorative items (glitter, stickers, paint, etc.)

What to do:

1. Cut four hearts out of green construction paper.
2. Glue the points of all the hearts together. To cover the glue, add a green circle of construction paper in the center, where the four points meet.
3. Add a green pipe-cleaner stalk. Depending on how large the shamrock is, you may need to twist a few together so the head won’t droop.
4. Get the kids to personalize their shamrocks with glitter, stickers, paint or whatever you have around the house.

Celtic wall art

What you need: Paints, brushes, heavy cardstock and stencils with a Celtic theme (available at home décor or art supply stores).

What to do:

1. Cover a large surface with newsprint.
2. Set out pots of paint, brushes and stacks of heavy cardstock.
3. Have kids place the stencil on the paper and fill in with paint. Have several colors on hand for them to choose from.
4. Once they’re dry, pop each piece into dollar-store frames for instant Irish-themed art.

Shamrock T-shirts

What you need: T-shirt transfer paper for inkjet printers (available at craft and art supply stores), plain white T-shirts, iron, scanner, white paper, markers.

What to do:

1. Have your child draw or trace shamrocks onto plain paper or get a free shamrock template here.
2. Scan and save the image to your computer.
3. Open the image in Word or a photo-editing program and size it to fit the shirt by dragging the corners. Be sure to flip the image on the computer, otherwise it will appear backwards on the shirt (Picture Tools > Format > Rotate > Flip Horizontal).
4. Test-print each onto a piece of regular paper to ensure everything looks good and the size fits the shirt. If not, resize on your computer.
5. Print onto T-shirt transfer paper. Trim the image as closely as possible.
6. Place the transfer, image-side down, on the fabric. With the iron set to no steam and the highest cotton setting, press on the transfer for the time specified in the package instructions.
7. Let the transfer and fabric cool for a few minutes and slowly peel the paper backing from the transfer. If the transfer lifts, reapply the paper and iron again with a firmer hand.

4-leaf clover pins

What you need:Felt in various colors, glue, pins, decorative items (ribbon, buttons, glitter, etc.)

What to do:

1. Cut various sizes of clover shapes out of different colors of felt.
2. Layer the pieces together and secure using glue. Let dry.
3. Now the fun starts! Have kids decorate clovers with buttons, ribbon, glitter or smaller pieces of felt cut into shapes.
4. Glue a safety pin to the back of the pin so kids can wear their creations.

Bonus craft idea

St. Patrick’s Day hat craft

Keep your little person or people fashionable on St. Patrick’s day with this fun leprechaun hat craft. Kids can craft an old ice-cream container into something magical!

More kids’ craft ideas

Make-A-Plate for kids
How to make a name banner
Homemade tooth-fairy pockets