St. Patrick's Day Poem

A little merry sunshine,
A little wind at play,
And lots and lots of green
All for St. Patrick's Day!

  - Anonymous


St. Patrick's Day is on March 17 and you don't have to be Irish to have fun. Just dress in green and then watch out for the tiny Leprechauns which are Irish fairies. Maybe you'll even find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

The shamrock which is a three leafed clover plant is the symbol of Ireland. It is also a symbol of the holiday as it is part of the legend of St. Patrick who was the patron saint of Ireland.

Here are some crafts to make for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

Craft 1 Shamrock Pompom Pin

You Will Need:

  • Three green pompoms
  • Small piece of green felt
  • White glue
  • Glue gun
  • Scissors
  • Pin back
  • Green pipe cleaner

Instructions:

  1. Cut a circle from the piece of green felt that is big enough to hold all three pompoms.
  2. Place the 3 pompoms on the pin to make a shamrock shape and glue them down.
  3. Glue the pin to the back of the felt circle with the glue gun.
  4. Cut the pipe cleaner into thirds to make a stem for the pin. Glue on to the pin.

Craft 2 Wooden Heart Shamrock Pin

You Will Need:

  • 3 flat wooden craft hearts
  • Green paint
  • Green sparkles
  • White glue
  • Glue gun
  • Green pipe cleaner
  • Scissors
  • Pin back

Instructions:

  1. Paint the three wooden hearts with the green paint. After they dry, spread on some diluted white glue and sprinkle on the green sparkles. Let them dry thoroughly. See photo 2.
  2. Form the shamrock by joining the 3 pointed ends of the hearts together. Stick them together in this shape with a glue gun.
  3. Glue the pipe cleaner on to the bottom of the shamrock for a stem.
  4. Glue the pin on the back.

To make easy shamrocks, cut a pepper (it doesn't have to be green) in half. Dip or paint the rim of the pepper with green paint and press on paper. Draw on a stem with the green paint.

Some peppers have three bumps on the bottom and others have four. Look for ones with three bumps to make a three leaf shamrock.

[Photographs by Linda Dunbar. Reproduction prohibited]