Fun and Easy Paper Plate Leprechaun Mask with Handprint Beard

Are you looking forward to St. Patrick’s day?  I am – I love having fun themed activities to do with the kids and St. Patrick’s day is one of my favorites.  Our first St. Patrick’s day project this year was to make a Paper Plate Leprechaun Mask with Handprint Beard.  This was a lot of fun and as you will see near the end of my post I have some pretty cute models I work with!  

I am also excited to share that this post is a collaboration with Deanna from Play Dough & Popsicles.  Keep reading for some more information about Deanna and her post.

Materials Needed

• Paper Plate
• White Paper (if you are going to make painted handprints)
• Orange Paint (if you are going to make painted handprints)
• Green Construction Paper
• Black Construction Paper
• Yellow Construction Paper
• Orange Construction Paper (if you want to trace and cut out handprints)
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue Stick or School Glue
• Paint Brush

Instructions

• First cut the center out of your paper plate (this is hard for smaller kids – so you may have to help
• Trace a hat on the green construction paper – have the kids cut this out (or you can depending on skill level)
• Cut a black belt and yellow buckle to go on the hat (I cut these but depending on age your children could do this) – attach with a glue stick to the hat
• Attach the hat to the top of the paper plate with tape (we tried glue but it popped off)
• Get out a large piece of white paper to make the handprint beard (or trace hands on orange construction paper).
• Trace the inside edge of the circle you cut out of the plate onto your white paper – this will serve as a guideline for handprint placement.  You don’t trace a full circle – leave the top of the plate overhanging the edge of the paper for the beard shape.
• Paint your child’s hand orange and make a handprint at the top of the outline you drew.
• Repeat until you have made handprints around the whole line you drew.
• Let the handprints dry.
• Cut the handprint beard out.
• Attach the beard to the plate with tape (I rolled tape and stuck it to the front of the plate and attached the beard to that).
• Optional: attach a popsicle stick to hold the mask easily.

Here are my models with the finished products:

Welcome Deanna from Play Dough & Popsicles!

I’m so excited to collaborate with Deanna on this St. Patrick’s Day themed post.  Below find out a little bit about Deanna and her website Play Dough & Popsicles: 

We are a family of 3. Our daughter is preschool age and literally the best thing that happened to us! It has been, and will continue to be, such a joy to watch her grow and learn. That is one of the main reasons I decided to start this blog. I am inspired by so many other parents & teachers who are constantly helping their children learn through hands on fun. I want to share similar activities that we try together. I will also share the other areas of my life that feed my creativity. I am obsessed with ‘trying’ DIY projects, exploring the world of food and finding recipes that the other 2/3 of my family (aka the pickiest eaters on the planet) enjoy!

Deanna created a Paper Plate Pot of Gold & Handprint Rainbow Craft for Kids.  It is adorable!  Click on the image below to get the complete instructions:

Do you have any favorite projects to do for St. Patrick’s day?  If so I would love to see them – add links to your posts in the comments or send me an email.