January is a looong month but we are already looking forward to all the special days which will shortly be coming up. We love celebrating St Patrick’s Day and couldn’t resist adding this clay leprechaun craft with you. It’s definitely a craft for older children and my teens love playing with my clay supply. These lucky little leprechauns are dressed in lots of green and may just bring you a pot of gold if you treat them well.

List of supplies:

Air dry clay or foam clay – you will need a selection of different coloured clays of your choice for the leprechaun along with green and orange clays.

Clay modelling tools

St Patrick’s Day clay leprechaun craft

Take the amount selected for the body base and form a smooth, round shape with it.

Roll a clay ball against a flat, even surface to form a cylinder shape.

Use the pin head clay tool to make a 1 cm deep hole at the bottom end of the clay cylinder shape. This hole at the bottom side will help the clay leprechaun to stand firmly.

Make a small ball from pink or peach clay to make the nose. Attach the nose on the top, front side of the clay cylinder shape (body shape).

Take out an amount of clay (we’re using orange clay) for the beard and make a disc shape with it.

Use fingertips to make a pointy end at one end (forming a teardrop shape).

Use fingertip or clay tool to make an inward curve (concave) at the opposite end of the pointy end.

Use a clay knife tool to add stripes texture on the clay beard pattern.

Form a rope shape from an amount of brown clay (or any coloured clay of your choice).

Wrap the clay rope (belt) around the middle part of the body base.

Attach the clay beard on the body base, right below the nose.

Measure and take out some clay to make the hat. You can use the same amount of clay used for the body base. Form a smooth cone shape with the clay.

Carefully pinch out and flatten the bottom side of the clay cone to form the band of the hat.

Attach the clay hat at the top side of the clay body base, right above the nose.

Take out a small amount of clay (very small amount, to make the clay shamrock) and form a flat teardrop shape with it.

Use clay knife tool to make an indentation at the middle point of the round edge.

Similarly, form 3 more of these and join them together on all four sides.

Add a small clay stem at one side of the clay shamrock pattern.

Add a hat belt around the bottom side of the hat cone and then attach the clay shamrock to the hat. Allow the clay to dry.

These are so much to make and something that the teens can get involved with two. Mix up your colours to make an army of St Patrick’s Day leprechauns – I hope they bring you luck!