Creative Leprechauns
Leprechauns have diversified through the years. The jolly little folk hanging around rainbows have sought out adventure in recent years. And children are delighted to imagine all the ways that leprechauns may appear in modern times. Our first Forest Fairy Crafts book is perfectly suited to this creative craft. You can make any style of leprechaun by leaning into green and gold (especially sequins). This means that the ninja leprechaun can move through the world.
This little leprechaun was so fun to imagine with her rainbow hair and sparkly gold arms. I simply used the ninja pattern with different colors. This inspired me to wonder about a pirate leprechaun. Or a leprechaun mermaid? The possibilities are endless.
Of course, a fairy pattern can easily be made into a leprechaun. And it’s fun to celebrate gold and green, especially if you can find yarn threaded with gold or, like this fairy’s hair, a gold eyelash yarn.
So fun how they sparkle!
Of course, the book has an official leprechaun as well.
A fun way to add extra magic to the leprechauns world is to paint little pebbles gold (or simply pretend they’re gold). After all, couldn’t leprechauns use a magic spell to disguise their gold while on an adventure?
Photo credit C&T Publishing
I could imagine games with leprechauns that you create together. You could use larger pieces (or sew two pieces of felt together to show “gold”. Then hide them around the house similar to an Easter Egg hunt. Make your leprechaun a leprechaun home. I have it on good authority that leprechauns love new homes far more than leprechaun traps. Build a leprechaun town!
With the Magical Forest Fairy Craft Through the Seasons book, you can create any of the patterns with gold/green themes. You could make beanbags with sparkly sequins that could then be gently tossed onto chosen targets, such as into a bucket or onto a felt square.
Then write a story about your leprechaun(s). And draw a picture or two of them. You could write about their adventures when they met children for the first time, or what their home is like in Leprechaun-Town or what life is like for leprechauns. Honestly, after you make a leprechaun or two or three, the children tend to inspire their own games and ideas. What can you create together?
We also made Leprechaun babies. The baby pattern is in the first Forest Fairy Crafts book. And this post shows how to make the cute little hat.
So many magical ways to bring Leprechaun magic into your home. We hope that all the good luck of the Leprechauns finds you and your family!
For more Leprechaun inspiration and activities, visit these posts:
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
The Leprechauns wish you a delightful Saint Patrick’s Day!
The leprechauns found gold! Here’s to all the little folk surprising little people with magical antics today!
The leprechaun gold is actually pebbles painted with gold paint (not for little people that taste their toys).
The directions for these leprechauns are in the first Forest Fairy Craft book, which can be downloaded so you can make them today or any day :)
The fairies of the forest send lots of good luck to you and your family today 🍀💛💚
Leprechaun Ninja
Edit to add: Thank you everyone for entering! The Leprechaun Ninja is traveling to her new home with Jenn. We appreciate all of your kind words! We’re busy creating for the next giveaway. Visit again soon and/or subscribe to our newsletter for all the updates :)
The past few years have seen Leprechauns learning new skills. And a very secret type of Leprechaun is the Leprechaun Ninja. What, what? Think about who protects the gold, who can change rainbows, and who is willing to put everything on the line for adventure? Especially with the rise of Leprechaun Traps in the world, these ninjas enjoy going on quests to help their communities.
We had a great time making her one rainy afternoon. My daughter thought of the idea for rainbow braids, because Leprechauns are fond of rainbows (another meaning to gold at the end of the rainbow being a golden personality :)).
That led to a little challenge, which is usually solved by gluing the hat on the head. Adding the yarn for the hair leaves a little patch bare on the back of her head. I wanted the hat to be able to go on and off since her smile is cute. We solved this by painting the back of her head with a tiny bit of green paint, which looks like her hair color. The wings mostly cover the back of her head anyway.
And she looks so cute from the front with her braids and no hat :)
She is now a favorite new character in fairyland. We’ve been having fun mixing and matching different characters lately. Directions for both the Ninja and the Leprechaun are in our first Forest Fairy Crafts book*.
She even has a glow-in-the-dark bead on her hat to light her way at night :)
Now, for the best news of the day. She wants to explore. So we’re hosting a giveaway!
Winner wins the leprechaun ninja made by Lenka sent anywhere in the United States (apologies to International friends). Forest Fairies are not appropriate for young children who enjoy tasting their toys (choking hazard).
To enter, comment here. For additional chances, enter on
Facebook with a comment, like, share
Instagram with tagging a friend
Twitter with a Retweet or Quote Tweet. May the luck of the Leprechauns be with you! 🍀
We hope your month is filled with magic :)
*Affiliate link gives a small amount back to the forest while your price remains the same. Thank you
Wishing you the magic of the season 🍀💚
For more leprechaun ideas, visit our post about Leprechaun Babies and Happy Leprechaun Season. Enjoy 💛
Happy Leprechaun Season
It's the season of little people. They're in the leaves and under newly blooming flowers. They're finding beams of warming sunshine to warm their wings. Creating leprechauns is yearly magic. Of course, they may appear thanks to an adult inviting them into a home (making one to leave in a special place). Instead of building a "trap" which was popular for awhile, we build leprechaun homes, places where they want to stay and enjoy a cup of tea while they sort their gold trinkets.
This year, I created a new leprechaun with sparkly gold hair and green felt. She wears skirts of green and white speckled with glitter (I was lucky enough to find the glitter-strewn carnations at a craft store).
Along the way, leprechauns bring stories of magic and luck. Whatever your family story, enjoy creating these magical friends. Make the luck of the little people be with you!
Other leprechaun crafts include :
Play with Your Crafts: Making Houses
Of course Leprechauns are in our first Forest Fairy Crafts Book, which you can use for year-round crafty friends *affiliate link gives a small amount to us should you choose to purchase the book while your price remains the same. We all win :)
Playing with Craft
Children love inspiration. Don't we all?
Making toys inspires children. They delight in the power of their hands and ideas. I recently sewed these lovely baby leprechauns with six year old students. Children sewed all their own sequins, around the fairy baby, and added stuffing. They were delighted with the little toys they made.What a treat, to see that magic through their eyes. Look what we can create!
Sorry this one is a little blurry- classrooms have tricky lighting for my camera :)
Then the children reminded me the real fun of sewing and crafting. Crafting is inspiration. And the craft is just the beginning. Crafts inspire play. And play inspires storytelling. And learning.
Now that they had little friends, they needed houses. What could build a house?
Blocks of course!
And some homes need a diving board into a lovely cool pool.
With a luxury view from the bedroom.
Legos also make awesome homes. With an open door :)
I encourage students to leave blank faces so they can imagine any expression, but a few insist on adding features. I let go when they have strong feelings towards needing eyes or mouths. After all, if I wanted it to look 'my way', I would make my own :)
I loved her idea to put a ring over the ruffled hat for an even fancier crown.
And finally, dollhouses are wonderful homes. Especially when they come with a pet tiger :)
Enjoy what you create!
Happy day :)
Many of our crafts are "Keepsake Crafts", meaning they look nice for years and become a treasured memory alongside the sweet sewing. Every now and again, I sew "Process Crafts" with children. These are the crafts to shove in pockets and forget outside after playing in the trees. They are the crafts that are meant for playing. They are a chance to let go. Don't worry overmuch about colors or forever. Let them become a memory. Become part of a story. Have fun crafting and playing :)
P.S.- if you would like detailed directions for making little fairy/gnome friends, check out our Forest Fairy Craft Book. Please note- is an affiliate link. Thank you from the forest should you decide to purchase one! Directions for the little hats are online here. Enjoy!
Leprechaun Baby
Hello wee leprechaun!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Today I get to sew with little friends in first grade. I will be taking photos to share of course. I had to make a sample for them. And it's so fun to make these little leprechauns. I used the Blossom Baby pattern on Page 99 of our Forest Fairy Crafts
I was a little creative with the hat. I didn't have enough acorn caps for my class project. And I want to finish them and send them home today. That means I needed to glue hats the day before. I made the hats ahead of time. And I had fun with the design.
I cut a rectangle with curvy lines (I just measured around the 5/8" bead, very scientific). It came out to 2" if you are curious. I made a few taller and a few shorter. I like every fairy to be unique :)
The next step would be tricky for children, but I sewed all these hats so I was okay with a few tricks :). I ran a stitch near the top of the hat. Note: for children, I always double the thread and knot so the needle won't pull off. These were for me. I've had a lot of practice :)
I cinched the thread tight and tied a knot so it wouldn't come loose. I am pondering how to best teach this to children... more on that soon. Anyway, I folded the hat in half and sewed a few stiches along the back.
Easy cuteness!
Ready to glue :)
I could have added sequins or a clover of course, but I have one day to finish these. I wanted the children to sew sequins on the body, sew around the outside, stuff, and close up. Will be fun!
Wishing you lots of magic today!
Tip: Last summer I realized that curvy lines were a challenge for cutting, yet looked wonderful. I took the leap and treated myself to a rotary cutter. I love the curves for blossoms and mermaid waves. It took me ages to choose, so here's the link in case you are interested: OLFA Rotary Cutter
*Please note: this post does contain affiliate links. Should you purchase anything, your price doesn't change, but a small percentage commission returns to the Forest. Thanks for helping us buy more felt :)
For sharing:
Enjoy!
Leprechauns
'Tis the season for magic at the end of the rainbow!
Patterns for these little leprechauns are over on our Etsy Shop.
We hope that you enjoy them!
