Ribbon Rainbow Cloud

Cheerful ribbon rainbows dangled from the lamp over our kitchen table for St. Patrick's Day (and I'm posting this in May?).  It would make a colorful add-in to a teacher appreciation basket or an easy summer sewing craft for kids.

Yay for oodles of colorful 1/4" ribbon, each just 50 cents! Sparkly glitter felt, a little tacky glue, and some silver thread is all the materials you need.  Make your own cloud or use the template below.

Stories to go with these... do you have any favorite rainbow stories?  When my kids were little.,they had two favorites.  What makes a rainbow, by Betty Ann Schwartz was super fun pre-k sturdy book because it has real ribbon inside.  Colors are added to the rainbow as you turn the page. Each page features the color that is added with other things the same color with a full rainbow at the very end.  I'm pretty sure it was the ribbon that my kids liked... the text is so-so.

A Rainbow of My Own, by Don Freeman, was a favorite bedtime story or one to read right after the rainbow disappeared. What would you do if you had your own rainbow to play with?  Dreamy illustrations invite you to keep on imagining... 

 I haven't tried Krupp's, The Rainbow and You, and it is out of print but it sure looks like a good one to answer questions about how rainbows work, their meaning in ancient culture, and even how to make one at home. Keep an eye out for this one at thrift stores!

The Rainbow Goblins, by Ul De Rico got high reviews on Amazon. A story about good triumphing over evil and the golden rule sounds like one right up my alley... Darn, library doesn't have this either!

Ribbon Rainbow Cloud Pattern

Welcoming the Leprechauns!

St. Patrick's Day is coming... will the Leprechaun's stop by?

We'll do our best to welcome them,  shhhh... don't spy!

With shamrocks, rainbows, froggies, too,

May our green and friendly spirit shine through! 

The kids drew their special pictures which were so loved by the Leprechauns that they disappeared on St. Patrick's Day morning.  Phew to Mom's foresight to scan them first, or all evidence would have disappeared!

Chica and Jo showed us how to turn Halloween pots into Leprechaun friendly pots of clover (thank you!).  We dug clover from our yard, added potting soil to our pots, and in just a few "dirty" minutes, our railing was looking very festive!

We could tell the Leprechaun's liked these, too, because they left a shiny coin in each and every one!

A fresh coat of chalkboard paint had our blackboard pot looking spiffy.  (This idea has been around awhile... you just need a spray can of chalkboard paint, a big terra cotta pot, and some painter's tape). An artist-helper added the seasonal detail....

Which turned into making a chalk dust rainbow... and foot prints... tracks... then paint... and well, you know where this is going, don't you?

On the dog, of course. Who made out great with a big treat after he was cleaned up... and then there was the laundry, the floor, the chair... wasn't this an outside project? Creativity is messy!

One more thing I tried inside was a St. Patrick's Day banner.  I saw this idea on Pinterest.  It captured the St. Patrick's Day spirit so perfectly I couldn't stop looking at it... spring green against the black and white winter background.  Only problem was, the provided link didn't lead me to the original post. Could I make this on my own? Sure... the trickiest part looked like the black and white background. Where to get the paper?   Shopping wasn't an option.

I found some flowered paper in my stash, and played around with the black and white copy options on my printer. Whala!  I had what I needed!  The heart shapes were easy enough to trace and fold.  I hot-glued them to the pennants and folded the pennants over twine, keeping with a rustic look. 

 I made a couple of extras, singles, for hanging on window latches.

Then I was messing around on Pinterest again and got curious... This time I was able to trace the original banner all the way back to Lil' Luna.  Wow, it sure would have made things easier to go there first!  Kristyn even provides an Irish map banner to use as the background, and distresses her hearts with black stamp ink around the edges. Simply elegant! 

In the end, the test was to see if the Leprechauns liked it... and I'm happy to report, they came with their map and treasure once again. :)

Rainbow Surprise Leprechaun Trick

The leprechauns who visited us last night left an extra special surprise for the boys...

IN THE FREEZER!

The boys followed their treasure map which showed a rainbow inside the house... After a bit of frenzied searching, they found a rainbow on the freezer door.  Sure enough, there was a rainbow surprise waiting inside!

The leprechauns had frozen a lego hero factory set inside a rainbow of colored frozen water (along with some shamrock confetti)!

The boys had to melt the ice using hot water to free the pieces and build their prize.  This was at least as much fun as building the set in the first place!

Clever leprechauns!

Of course, this doesn't have to be a St. Patrick's day activity. It can be fun any day!  Use any of your child's plastic toys and omit the food coloring, if you like.  Plastic animals or dinosaurs work great!  Excavating them from the ice will keep little hands busy for a long time...  :)

Behind Every Cloud is a Rainbow! (a spring paper craft)

Just another rainy day... but pull up on the sun....

Gone goes the rain, out comes the rainbow!

A rainy day paper craft project for you rainbow lovers!  Rotate/spin the sun out from behind the cloud and a rainbow appears.  Rotate the sun back behind the cloud and rain comes down.  Happy Spring!



Materials:

posterboard or other stiff paper
2 brass brads
colored markers and/or paint
scissors, hole punch, stapler, knife

1)  Cut out template and trace onto poster board.  Pencil in the number of pieces and special holes as indicated (circled with flower).  Cut out poster board pieces, punch holes and make slits.
2)  Interlock and spread out pieces 6a-6d and insert brad temporarily to hold together while you color/paint the rain cloud.
3) Color/paint piece 4 yellow and piece 7 like a cloud.


















4) With knob part of brass brad on bottom, stack/attach together pieces 2,3,4,5 and 6. Brad will go through all holes wtih a flower around them, in number order, but through the big slit on #5 rather than a hole. Spread out brad flat when all pieces are together to secure.

5) Slide tabs from 6d and 6a into piece #5.

6) Slide 3d tab into piece #2.

7) Poke brass brad through 7, 5, 4, 2, and 1... Secure!

8) Put tab of 3a into piece #1.

9) Align and staple the three cloud pieces (1,5,7) at the X.
10) Trim clouds, bows, sun etc. as needed to get final product. Use markers to draw colors on rainbow.

What I'd do differently next time:  use markers instead of paint.  The paint is wearing off where the paper rubs it.

Rainbow Behind Cloud Template

LEAPING LEPRECHAUN CRAFT

This jolly, leaping leprechaun is sure to bring joy whereever he "hangs."  Based on a classic pull toy, hang the leprechaun up (or hold top string in hand) and pull down on the lower string to see him leap.  Jumping jacks!

Materials:

poster board or heavy cardstock for base

green, black, orange, and skin tone paper for decoration

string (golden embroidery floss would be even better!)

hole punch, scissors, glue (rubber cement)

                                              brass brads

                                              white paint (or paper), sharpie for eyes (q-tip to dot paint)

                                              pink marker for mouth

                                              gold paint (or glitter, 3d fabric paint, paint pen) for details

Cut out the template, punch holes, and glue the colored pieces on top of poster board pieces.  Place the belt over the leg holes so brass brads look like part of belt.  Assemble by pushing brads through lower holes on arms and legs.  With the leprechan in arms/legs down position, tie string/floss through top holes of appendages, connecting arms to arms and legs to legs.  Use a longer piece of string/floss to tie arm string to leg string.

Punch a hole in top of leprechaun's hat to insert loop for hanging.  Tie a golden ring (old pirate treasure?) if you like, to the bottom string for easy pulling.

If your leprechaun's legs/arms get stuck when pulling, try loosening the brads a bit.

Have fun!


Leprechaun Template

Setting the Mood for St. Patrick's Day: Picture Book Recommendations

With St. Patrick's Day a month away now, it's a great time to head to the library and snatch up some picture books to help set the mood for the upcoming holiday. Here are  my family's favorites!

Delightful illustrations and a charming tale where good deeds are rewarded, The Leprechaun's Gold, by Henry Cole, has been a family St. Patrick's Day favorite for many years now!  Two harp players trudge to town to try their hand at a music contest.  A generous, poor musician, a young, greedy musician, and some leprechauns give this tale a timeless message!

Does the notorious St. Pat's day trickster always have to be a villain? This is an enduring tale where love triumphs over gold! The main character refuses to take the gold offered by a leprechaun for saving his life... but the tricky leprechaun presents gold in another format that is the best sort of treasure, a true companion! My 6 &8 year olds love the story, so you know it's not too mushy.

A talking goat that loves to read? A delightful tale with colorful, charming illustrations by Micheal Garland. Your child will have fun searching for fairies throughout... An average looking goat, Puck is named "King" for a day after winning a contest.  He wins not by his looks, but for his intelligence (he recites a favorite story)!  He can name his treasure for winning the contest, and what does he choose? More Books for he and his human companion to share! So a librarian brings a new load every week thereafter... Aw, shucks.  Gotta love this one! (author's note includes history of King Puck Festival).

Of course, all those stories about good leprechauns and good people need some context...  Clever Tom and the Leprechaun, by Linda Shute, is a more traditional story where a greedy gold seeker gets tricked by a clever leprechaun.  Fun to read... an annual tradition!

Leprechaun's Treasure Map: St. Patrick's Day Tradition

Leprechuans made it to our house on Saint Patrick's Day (phew!), and left a note in our mailbox...

Leprechaun Letter

It didn't take long to find the map... or to find the treasure...

(A note from us wee folk:  This family decorates their house for St. Patrick's day instead of setting traps for us... so, we left them a treasure map in their mail box.  Some shamrocks and confetti on the ground/walls/trees/fences match the landmarks on the map.  At the X, the kiddos started digging with their sandbox shovels... (their goofy Mom follows them with a camera).  We painted up a wooden box (from Michaels).  The boxes are small... hold a handful of marbles, gold coins, glow in the dark gems, plastic jewels, or other sparkly treasure.  These kids have enough marbles after us visiting for so many years.... so this year we're putting in a small UV flashlight from ebay along with the coins... the bugs in Virginia are amazing... they'll see even more with the UV light... and us? We're outta here. Back underground, safe from the bugs, until next spring...will the family put decorations up again next year? Or will they try to trap us?)

Sitting Leprechaun Felt Finger Puppet

Hanging Froggy Tree Ornaments

You know it's spring when you here them a croakin' and a creekin'! Frog time!

We liked to decorate the otherwise barren tree in our front yard with the changing seasons. No problem for Christmas, even Halloween, but yard decorations aren't available for other seasons...

Yet, those branches look so bare!  How about a little craft foam to tide us over until the leaves come? You can make any shape your heart desires, and the foam is cheap and easy to cut! Even with tacky glue, the foam holds up well with the elements.  I made about 10 of each season's shape.

I always wondered if the tree ornaments were too much for the neighbors. However, when we moved, folks that lived on our street that we didn't even know stopped by to say they'd miss our decorations!

These days we no longer have a front yard tree to hang things on, but there's space for our between-Valentine's-and-Easter froggies on our front porch! See the template below for the frog design.

Frog Template

Nutty Leprechauns

These little leprechauns are made from painted pistachio shells and acorns. They are a perfect size for those homemade leprechaun traps.. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hint O' Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

For all the leprechaun fans in your house, substitute peppermint extract for vanilla in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for a subtle mint flavor.  Add a little green food coloring (or not) and you have a festive St. Patrick's day treat.  The cookies were ravenously devoured by our after school second-grader crowd...







Hint O' Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

(based on the Original Nestle Toll House recipe)

2 cups white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brownsugar
1.5 tsp. peppermint extract
1/4- 1/2 tsp. green food coloring
2 large eggs
1 package nestle chocolte mini morsel chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Sift dry ingredients together.  Whisk eggs, extract, and food coloring together. Beat sugars and butters together. Add egg mixture and beat again. Add flour mixture. When well blended, add chips.  Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9-12 minutes.

St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Name Tag Template

Saint Patrick's Day Leprechaun Template

Lucky Leprechaun Finger Puppets

Lucky Leprechaun Free Finger Puppet Pattern

Leprechaun Finger Puppet