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Whether you are having a St. Patrick's Day party for your kids or in the classroom, these little treat holders are fun to make for any age. Top off this creative project with foil wrapped gold coins or other gold wrapped candies. Steer clear of the leprechauns!

You will need

styrofoam cups and/or bowls
green and black acrylic craft paint
chenille sticks in rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple
chenille sticks in black, gold and green
black craft foam
green craft foam or felt
white craft glue
scissors
gold wrapped candy (Rolos, butterscotch hard candy, gold coins, yellow spice drops, etc)

If you make this project we'd love to see it! Just send your photos and comments to the editor and it may get published on our Facebook fan page!

What you do

Green Leprechaun Hats
Use styrofoam cup to trace a circle onto green felt or craft foam. Set aside.

Paint styrofoam cup with green paint. Allow to dry and repeat with a second coat.

Lay two green chenille sticks and one black chenille stick together. Twist ends together to combine. We braided ours, but you can leave yours plain or twist it.

Use black paint to add a band for the brim of the hat (see photo).

Bend a gold chenille stick into a square for the buckle, trim where needed.

Glue the buckle to the black band. Hot glue works much faster if you have it available.

With the buckle as the front of your hat, use a pair of scissors to poke a hole on both sides of the hat, about 1 inch down from the brim of the cup. Insert twisted ends of chenille stick handle into holes from the inside of the cup. Bend ends upward to anchor handle in place.

Take the green felt or foam that you traced the circle on and cut around the pattern (not on the line) about 3/4" outside of the line. Bend in the middle to cut a hole in the center. Next, cut around the outer edge of the inside of the pattern line, leaving about a 1/4" border.

Stand the cup upright and place a layer of white craft glue all the way around the lip of the cup.

Slide your greem hat brim (circle you just cut out) over the top of the handle and position into place, pressing down gently onto the glue. Let dry completely.

Black Hats
Follow directions for green hats, eliminating the step for the hat band and buckle. We used gold and green chenille for the handle on our black hat.

Pot of Gold Bowls
Repeat steps as above using a styrofoam bowl instead of a cup. The handle is made in the same fashion as above.

Fill with fun gold wrapped treats!

Special thanks to Jennifer Stogowski of Alberta, Canada and Debbie Knechtel of Ontario, Canada for these great craft ideas!

What's Related
Pom Pom Shamrock
Lucky Shamrock
Rainbow Magnet
Simple St. Patrick's Day Wreath
Fun St. Patrick's Day Printables

About the Author
Amanda Formaro is the crafty, entrepreneurial mother of four children. She loves to bake, cook and make crafts. She is the craft expert for FamilyCorner.com and Kaboose.com. You can see her crafty creations on Crafts by Amanda and her delicious recipes on Amanda's Cookin'. She is also the owner of Fun Family Crafts.

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