Create your own leprechaun trap!

Have you ever built a leprechaun trap? They are a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and this one uses up cardboard from your recycling bin. This leprechaun trap is a stackable tower similar to a house of cards, but the handy slots keep it from collapsing.

Among this towering maze of green grass, we’ve hidden some shiny gold coins to lure in any leprechauns that might be nearby. Even if you don’t catch a real leprechaun this year, you can always make your own from a toilet paper roll.

You Will Need:

• • Corrugated cardboard
  • Craft knife
  • Cutting mat
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Green, beige, orange, and brown paints
  • Paintbrushes
  • Gold foil
  • Glue
  • Empty toilet paper roll
  • Scissors (optional, if your kids want to do some cutting)

Create a Grass Maze

1. Pick out a shade of green paint and
   apply it to both sides of a piece of corrugated cardboard. We used three different shades of green for variety. Let dry.
2. Use a paintbrush to apply little strokes to look like blades of grass all over the painted cardboard. Let dry.
3. Cut the cardboard into rectangles using a craft knife on a cutting mat. Playing-card size is ideal, but you can customize the size to best make use of the cardboard you have on hand. Feel free to cut a variety of sizes — they don’t all need to be the same.
4. Cut slots into the cardboard with the craft knife, making sure they are
   wide enough to fit over another piece of cardboard but not so wide that it wobbles around. Cut slots into different sides of the cardboard so that kids have a few options for how to stack the pieces together.

Make Gold Coins

1. Flatten a mini golden cupcake wrapper and glue it onto a piece of cardboard. You can use whatever you have on hand, like wrapping paper or foil from a chocolate bar. Let dry.
2. Cut out the golden coin and cut a slot into one side.
3. Make as many gold coins as you’d like, then hide them throughout the maze.

Craft a Mini Leprechaun

1. Paint a face and beard onto an empty toilet paper roll before painting the rest of the roll green. Let dry.
2. Create the brim of the leprechaun’s hat by tracing the circular end of the empty toilet paper roll onto a piece of cardboard and draw a slightly larger circle around it.
3. Cut out the brim and paint it green to match the tube.
4. When dry, slide the brim onto the tube; it should fit snugly. Glue in place if needed.

Handmade Charlotte celebrates every day with DIY crafts, recipes, and ideas for creative family living. Find more crafty ideas at handmadecharlotte.com.