How To Make An Easy And Simple Leprechaun Mask Out Of A Paper Plate

I have always adored St. Patrick’s Day. It might be that I’m a redhead so little orange-haired leprechauns just make me smile extra big. I’m not quite sure. Regardless, every year after Valentine’s Day I get super excited to start creating new St. Patrick’s Day crafts. This paper plate leprechaun mask we are sharing today is certain to bring some smiles and giggles to your littles ones this year.

Paper plates are a great material for making preschool crafts. They are inexpensive and easy to keep in stock at home or at school. The circle shape of the paper plate can easily be transformed into pretty much anything. My favorite thing about crafting with paper plates is how the rim around the plate has a bumpy texture for creating unique crafts like this leprechaun mask.

After creating this St. Patrick’s Day craft, kids can put on a silly skit for friends or family with their leprechaun mask, or they can also be used for a fun photo prop for a St. Patrick’s Day party.

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Supplies needed:

Leprechaun mask template <—-GET THE LEPRECHAUN HAT TEMPLATE
white paper plate
orange paint
peach paint
paintbrush
green cardstock or construction paper
black cardstock or construction paper
1-inch circle punch
orange pom-pom
black marker
orange marker
scissors
pencil for tracing
glue stick
stapler
gold straw (or jumbo craft stick)
tape

Tutorial:

1. Paint inside circle of the plate

Grab your white paper plate. Paint the inside circle of the paper plate with peach paint. Then paint the outside rim of the paper plate with orange paint. Let the paint dry completely.

2. Cut top of paper plate

When the paint on your paper plate has finished drying, use your scissors to cut the top off your paper plate to create a straight edge.

3. Print & cut out template

Download and print out the leprechaun hat template on white cardstock paper. Cut out the pieces of the template.

4. Trace & cut out hat piece

Use a pencil to trace the hat piece of the template on green cardstock or construction paper. Then trace the brim of the hat template piece on black cardstock or construction paper. Cut out both of the template pieces you traced.

5. Glue black stripe to the hat

Add glue on the back of the black rectangle and glue it onto the green leprechaun hat.

6. Punch eye holes

Use your 1-inch circle punch to punch eye holes at the top of your paper plate to create your leprechaun mask.

7. Staple hat to the face

Grab your stapler and staple your leprechaun hat at the top of your paper plate. You could also opt to glue the hat onto the paper plate.

8. Glue pom pom

Add a generous amount of glue to an orange pom-pom and glue it on your leprechaun mask for a nose.

9. Draw a smile

Draw a smile and freckles on your leprechaun mask with a black and orange marker.

We didn’t think of this when we were in the middle of creating our leprechaun mask but it would also be fun to draw eyebrows above the eye holes of the mask.

10. Make slits around plate

To add some extra texture to your leprechaun beard, cut slits along the rim of the paper plate with scissors. Bend and curl up some of the different sections to add dimension to the beard.

11. Glue straw to your craft

Turn your paper plate facing down. Tape the top section of your gold straw onto the side of the paper plate.

12. Add sticker to decorate

If you want to make your leprechaun extra festive for St. Patrick’s Day, glue a four-leaf clover sticker or embellishment onto the leprechaun hat.

Playing with your paper plate leprechaun craft

To play with your leprechaun mask, hold the gold paper straw with one hand and place the mask in front of your face, centering the eye holes over your eyes.

Kids can put on a silly leprechaun skit for friends or family. Or use the masks as a photo prop for a St. Patrick’s Day party at school or home.