7 Lucky St Patrick's Day Crafts

By Anna Hazard

Introduction

Here are a selection of inexpensive and easy-to-do crafts suitable for St. Patrick's Day. The theme focuses mostly on "luck" and other motif's linked to Paddy's Day celebrations with a particular emphasis on upcycling and the use of materials & supplies that can be easily found around the house.
 
Crafts are suitable for seniors, children, and others with arthritis, hand tremor, or various issues with hand dexterity or strength. The most common skills required are cutting, gluing/taping, and painting which can be more easily accomplished using ergonomic handcrafting tools or those specifically designed for those with arthritis such as shown in our previous article Crafting Tools for Seniors.

Lucky Horseshoes

• A symbol of luck that has been co-opted for additional use during the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, these decorations can either have real discarded horseshoes as their bases or use a variety of easier-to-find substitutes such as foam board, craft foam, or foam wreath forms. The main skills required are cutting, gluing, and painting with a bit of assistance or preparation in advance perhaps needed for those seniors who can't cut through thicker pieces of foam.
• Lucky Horseshoes | Gold Luck Horseshoe | DIY Glittered Horseshoe Garland | Lucky Horseshoe Wreath

Lucky Pennies

• Pennies (unlike their golden counterparts) may not be the first thing to come to mind when St. Patrick's Day rolls around, but their status as a symbol of luck is well known (not to mention how inexpensive they are to use as a crafting material). Here are a selection of crafts that use real pennies as their bases or major decorating point. As gluing & taping is the major skill used in most of these crafts, this tutorials are suitable for even those with more severe hand dexterity or strength issues.
• Lucky Penny Card | Lucky Penny Letters | Lucky Penny Wall Art | Lucky Penny Finger Woven Wreath

St. Patrick's Gold

• Gold in both form & color is often associated with leprechauns, the Irish, and many other popular symbols of St. Patrick's Day. In particular, gold coins & pots are gold are a common decoration for the day. These crafts make use gold paint or pre-made gold coins with painting, gluing, and cutting as the major skills required. Some steps such as cutting dowels to proper length may be done in advance for those seniors with hand strength issues.
• Lucky Gold Rocks | Pot of Gold Topiary | Feeling Lucky Specimen Art | St Patrick's Day Pot of Gold Plant

Shamrocks & Four Leaf Clovers

• A staple for St. Patrick's Day, these crafts can pull double duty as a fun activity as well as colorful & flamboyant indoor decorations for the celebration. Cutting, taping, and gluing are the main skills required for most of these tutorials with the Shamrock Luminary requiring a somewhat steadier hand as it includes simple painting with a breakable object.
• St Patrick's Day Balloon Shamrock Backdrop | Paper Strip Shamrocks | Scrappy St. Patrick's Day Shamrock Wreath | Shamrock Mason Jar Luminary

Lucky Leprechauns

• St. Patrick's Day is the time for wee little leprechauns to shine and so here are a selection of imaginative crafts using leprechaun clothing, leprechaun gold, and other leprechaun colors as their basis. Enough hand dexterity for cutting, taping & gluing, kneading, and mild sponge painting are required. Most materials can be found around the house, upcycled from other items, or bought from nearby grocery or hobby stores with certain supplies such as pre-cut twigs may need to be prepared in advance.
• Leprechaun Hat Favors | St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Play Dough | Leprechaun Hat Treats | Tricky Leprechaun Trap Decoration

St. Patrick's Green

• St. Patrick's Day is the time for green (as many people are inclined to say who run about pinching those who aren't carrying any said color on that day). To save you & your senior loved one from such mischievous pinches, here are a selection of suitable green crafts for household decorations, wearables, or sensory & stress relief items.
• DIY Tissue Paper Garland | St Patrick's Day Slime | Cupcake Liner  St. Patrick's Day Trees | St. Patrick's Day Lucky Bouquet

Rainbows

• If it's not green or gold, than the color most associated with St. Patrick's Day has to be the rainbow that leads to the fields of green clovers & pots of gold. Most of these crafts use paper (tissue, poster, sticker), foam, or felt as their bases. Cutting & pasting is the main skill required with the wreath requiring a bit more hand dexterity and skill on some parts of its construction.
• Rainbow Clover Tissue Paper Dangle | St. Patrick's Day Burlap Wreath |  Rainbow Shamrock Craft | St. Patrick's Day DIY Edible Matching Game