Moms Talk: Best Saint Patrick's Day Crafts for Children

Saint Patrick's Day is just a week away. Get into the spirit of the holiday with these fun and easy crafts recommended by local moms Robin Kopanski and Colleen Sauter.

Cut coffee filters into the shape of shamrocks. Mix blue and yellow food coloring with a small amount of water in two separate containers. Keep the colors dark for best effect. Using an eyedropper, drop the diluted food coloring onto the filters and let the coloring run together. – Robin Kopanski

Draw a small leprechaun figure. After your child has colored the leprechaun, cut out the figure and glue it to a clothespin or a Popsicle stick. Then, glue a photo of your child’s face onto the leprechaun for cute Irish puppet. – Robin Kopanski

Purchase Shrinky Dinks at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or another craft store. A piece of #6 plastic (polystyrene) will also work.  Use a shamrock shaped die-cutter to cut the shrinky dinks. You can also trace a clover pattern onto the plastic and cut it out free hand.   A four-inch shape will shrink to about a one-inch charm.  Color with permanent marker or colored pencils, the color will darken when it shrinks.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and place the rack in the lowest position.  Put the plastic on a piece of aluminum foil.  For the first minute the piece will curl up and look crazy (kids LOVE this!).   As soon as it flattens out, it's done.  Allow three to three and a half minutes of cooking time for a four to six inch piece.

Note:  If you want to make a charm, punch a hole in it before baking.  You can sand it a bit after baking to clean it up if necessary. – Colleen Sauter

Chop up crayons into pea-sized pieces. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Place the crayons into a silicone muffin baking pan. Melt the broken crayons for 15-20 minutes, remove from oven and let harden. If the crayons stick to the pan, place in the freezer for about an hour and the crayons will come out easily. – Colleen Sauter

If you are not lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover, make one. Pick several similar sized clovers and take off the leaves. Carefully place the leaves on wax paper in the shape of a four-leaf clover (you can include the stem as well). Place another sheet of wax paper on top, cover with a thin towel and press with a warm iron until the wax paper is sealed.