Leprechaun tutorial

With St. Patrick's day less than a week away, I thought I would show you a quick tutorial for making a Leprechaun. If you have children, make a Leprechaun trap with them (How to trap a Leprechaun) While they are sleeping you can make this little elf and in the morning, when the children wake up, they will have caught a Leprechaun.

I have done this project in my class room; usually it takes a few days. We decorate a box with green shamrocks and prop it up a little on the floor. We put gold coin (chocolate is fun) on the floor under the box.

The first day I leave glitter on the floor before the children arrive. I tell them that the Leprechaun must have been nearby the night before. There are a few gold coins missing (They tasted pretty good!)

Then the next day, when the children arrive, they find the Leprechaun. However, sometimes they are disappointed that it is made out of clay. They were expecting a real Leprechaun. Once I told them that the Leprechaun turned to clay but at night would turn back to a real Leprechaun. That was fine till someone dropped him and both of his legs fell off. One child was so distraught it took me a while to convince her that I really made the clay Leprechaun and that we were just having fun.

Now for the tutorial..

You will need Sculpey III Green, pottery, black and beige.

Click on the pictures to read the tutorial

You can add more details to your Leprechaun, like boot buckles or a pot of gold.

When you are finished, bake for 20 minutes at 270 degrees.. I suggest testing your oven first though. If you don't have an accurate oven temp..the clay could burn.

Let it cool before you touch it, as it will still feel soft (and will be very hot).. As it cools, it hardens.

Have fun! If you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at garritygal@yahoo.com.

P. S. My internet provider has been having problems in my area (possibly due to high winds and a lot of rain, so I haven't been able to blog for a few days.)