Bring a little magic into your home or classroom this St. Patrick’s Day! Kids love celebrating holidays with hands-on activities, so have them get into the spirit with a project that lets them create a lucky leprechaun.

This leprechaun fork painting craft is a creative and exciting way for kids to make a festive piece of art. Instead of using a regular paintbrush, they’ll use a fork to paint the leprechaun’s bright orange beard and give it a textured look.

If you’re on the hunt for more ways to celebrate the holiday, be sure to check out our collection of St. Patrick’s Day crafts for even more festive fun! Kids can create shamrocks, rainbows, and pots of gold to go along with their lucky leprechaun.

A collage showcases a fork-painted leprechaun craft for kids, featuring a paper leprechaun face with a green hat and an orange beard created using fork painting, along with bold text promoting a free template.

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Leprechaun Art For Kids

Table of contents

While kids are creating their leprechaun, they’ll also be working on developmental skills. They’ll hone their fine motor skills and sharpen their scissor skills as they cut, paste, and paint this mischievous little guy from Irish folklore.

It’s an easy and fun activity for preschool and kindergarten kids to make this March, so download our free leprechaun template, grab a few simple supplies, and, of course, a fork. In just a few steps, kids will have a jolly leprechaun ready to spread some St. Patrick’s Day cheer!

Supplies

Paper plate
Paint
Plastic fork
Colored cardstock or construction paper
Glue stick
Scissors
Leprechaun template (click the “click here to get your freebie” image at the end of the post)

Click here to see our favorite kids’ craft supplies.

Directions

Start by downloading and printing the template. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this leprechaun to life!

A person is holding a printed craft template featuring outlines of a leprechaun's head and hat, labeled for tracing onto colored paper. The background includes a blue fabric.

First, guide your child to glue the hat band in the middle of the hat.

A person is attaching a black paper band across a green paper leprechaun hat, assembling a craft on a white surface with a blue fabric background.

Glue the outer buckle in the center of the band.

A person is assembling a green paper leprechaun hat by attaching a yellow square buckle to a black band across the front. The craft is being made on a white surface with a blue fabric background.

Click here to see why I recommend these craft supplies

Next, glue the inner buckle inside the outer buckle.

A person is assembling a green paper leprechaun hat by attaching a black band and a yellow square buckle to the front. The craft is being created on a white surface with a blue fabric background.

Place the nose above the mouth and glue it down.

A person is assembling a leprechaun craft by attaching a small pink circular nose to a beige cutout of a face with pointed ears. A green paper hat with a black band and yellow buckle is nearby, ready to be added.

Now, help your child to glue the eyes in the middle of the face.

A person is assembling a leprechaun craft by attaching large round eyes to a cutout of a face with pointed ears and a small pink nose. A green paper hat with a black band and yellow buckle is placed nearby, ready to be added to the craft.

Glue the leprechaun’s face onto a background paper.

A person is placing a cutout of a leprechaun's face onto a bright green background. The face features large round eyes, a small pink nose, a simple curved smile, and pointed ears, forming the base for a St. Patrick's Day craft.

Next, use a plastic fork to dip into the paint and stamp short strokes around the leprechaun’s face.

A person is using a plastic fork dipped in orange paint to create a beard on a leprechaun face craft placed on a green background. A white paper plate with a small amount of orange paint is nearby, showing the painting process in progress.

Next, encourage your child to create a beard using the same technique on the bottom of the leprechaun’s face.

A leprechaun face craft is displayed on a green background, featuring a round face with large black eyes, a pink nose, pointy ears, and an orange beard made with paint strokes. To the right, a white paper plate holds a small amount of orange paint, suggesting the craft is in progress.

Finish by having your child glue the hat to the top of the head.

Hands are assembling a paper leprechaun craft on a bright green background, featuring a face with a beard, pointy ears, and a green hat with a black band and gold buckle.

While you’re here, check out our leprechaun trap ideas There are so many fun ideas!

A handmade leprechaun craft features a smiling face with large round eyes, a pink nose, and pointy ears, topped with a green hat with a black band and gold buckle. The orange beard is drawn with marker strokes, and the craft is displayed on a bright green background, with another similar craft partially visible in the background on blue paper.

Easy Handprint Leprechaun Craft

St. Patrick’s Books For Kids

Pete The Cat: The Great Leprechaun Chase is a must-have for Pete the Cat fans! Join Pete as he tries to catch an elusive leprechaun.

How To Catch A Leprechaun is a silly book that’s, you guessed it, about catching a leprechaun! Please read this book and let your kiddos build their trap and start a family tradition.

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover is another book kids can’t get enough of. See what the old lady is doing this St. Patrick’s Day!

Need more book suggestions? Check out our favorite leprechaun books for kids!

Two handmade leprechaun crafts are displayed, each featuring a smiling face with large round eyes, a pink nose, and pointy ears, topped with a green hat with a black band and gold buckle. The orange beards are drawn with marker strokes, and the crafts are mounted on bright blue and green backgrounds.

Easy Printable St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

Leprechaun Cup Craft – Turn an ordinary paper cup into a mischievous little leprechaun with this fun activity! Kids will be excited to transform everyday items into something magical. Grab a party cup, a few supplies, and get kids ready for some St. Patrick’s Day fun.

Related: St. Patrick’s Day Worksheets

Torn Paper Shamrock Craft – Make St. Patrick’s Day extra lucky with a shamrock made from torn paper! Kids will love ripping and gluing pieces of paper to create their own four leaf clover. It’s a hands-on way to celebrate while building fine motor skills. Grab some green paper and let the festive fun begin!

A collage of four St. Patrick’s Day-themed crafts for kids. The top left image shows two leprechaun figures made from paper cups with green hats and red beards. The top right image features two smiling shamrocks with googly eyes on colorful backgrounds. The bottom left image displays rainbow crafts made from pipe cleaners, with cotton clouds and pots of gold on blue paper. The bottom right image shows two paper plate leprechaun faces with green hats and smiling expressions.

Pot of Gold & Rainbow Craft – Kids will create a scene any leprechaun would be excited to find with this festive project. The rainbow leading to the pot of glittery gold is made with pipe cleaners and the clouds are fluffy cotton balls. Grab these easy to find supplies and have your lucky little ones get creative!

Paper Plate Leprechaun Craft – This jolly leprechaun is made out of a common item in the kitchen! Kids will paint, craft, and bring this lucky little guy to life using our free template and a paper plate. It’s an easy, hands-on activity that turns a simple paper plate into a lucky leprechaun!

St. Patrick’s Day Printables

Your little artists can decorate for St. Patrick’s Day when they complete these leprechaun coloring pages. These printables are a great activity for toddlers through early elementary kids, and they’ll love to bring each page to life with bright colors.

Try this Leprechaun Monkey Craft

Print off these coloring sheets and keep kids entertained while sneaking in some fine motor practice. They’ll be so busy having fun, they won’t even realize they’re building creativity and coordination.

A handmade leprechaun craft features a smiling face with large round eyes, a pink nose, and pointed ears, topped with a green hat with a black band and gold buckle. The orange beard is drawn with marker strokes for texture, and the craft is displayed on a bright blue background.

St. Patrick’s Day color by numbers – Kids can have some festive fun with these St. Patrick’s Day color by numbers printables! Our four lucky designs, Irish balloons, a leprechaun hat, a pot of gold, and a rainbow, will get kids excited to color by matching the color with the numbered spaces.

These no prep pages are perfect for classrooms or fun at home to keep little ones engaged and learning number recognition, fine motor skills, and colors.

A collage of four St. Patrick's Day-themed activity sheets for children. The top left image features a coloring page of a dog wearing a leprechaun hat with a green bow and shamrocks. The top right image is a "Color by Number" activity with a green leprechaun hat on a blue background. The bottom left image is a cutting practice worksheet with St. Patrick's Day-themed images and numbers. The bottom right image is a coloring page of a black pot filled with gold coins, with a green leprechaun hat resting on top.

Get little hands snipping with these St. Patrick’s Day cutting practice worksheets! The holiday themed designs will make cutting along straight, curved, and zigzag lines fun for kids.

These engaging worksheets boost fine motor control, hand strength, and hand-eye coordination when they complete the pictures and practice counting in an entertaining way. Just print and let the cutting fun begin in the classroom or at home.

A handmade leprechaun craft features a face made from cut-out paper with large round eyes, a pink nose, and pointed ears. The leprechaun wears a green top hat with a black band and a gold buckle, and its orange beard is drawn with marker strokes, giving it a textured look. The craft is mounted on a bright blue background.

These St. Patrick’s Day themed fine motor printables will get little hands moving! Each page is packed with fun activities like cutting shapes, tracing lines, dot coloring, and more to help kids strengthen hand-eye coordination, scissor skills, and precision.

Plus, they’ll practice colors, size concepts, and creativity with each activity they complete. This no prep packet is the perfect way to keep learning fun and festive.

Leprechaun Tissue Paper Craft

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

Leprechaun Fork Painting Craft

Prep Time: 8

Active Time: 10

Drying Time:: 10

Total Time: 28

This leprechaun fork painting craft is a creative and exciting way for kids to make a festive piece of art.

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Author: Sam

Video

Materials

Paper plate
Paint
Plastic fork
Colored cardstock or construction paper
Glue stick
Scissors
Leprechaun template

Instructions

Download the leprechaun template, print, and cut out the pieces you need.
Begin by gluing the hat band in the middle of the hat.
Glue the outer buckle in the middle of the band.
Next, glue the inner buckle to the middle of the outer buckle.
Place the nose above the mouth and glue it down.
Now, glue the eyes in the middle of the face.
Glue the leprechaun’s face onto the background paper.
Next, use a plastic fork to dip into the paint and stamp short strokes around the leprechaun’s face.
Use the same technique to create a beard on the bottom part of the leprechaun's face.
Finish up by gluing the completed hat to the top of the leprechaun's head.

Free Leprechaun Fork Painting Template

Sam

Sam is the crafter and founder of Simple Everyday Mom. She has been featured in Oprah Mag, Good Housekeeping, The Spruce Crafts, Country Living, The Bump and more. Read more.