March 3 2023

Craft Stick Leprechaun Gnome Craft with Mop Beard!

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Make this adorable Leprechaun Gnome Craft using wooden popsicle/craft sticks and a mop head as well as a few basic crafting supplies! The leprechaun gnome is a fun activity to do for St. Patrick’s Day and is a fun piece of holiday decor too!

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Leprechaun Gnome Craft

The full list of materials, tools, and instructions is in the printable tutorial card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through before starting this project to ensure that you have everything required and understand the steps and timings involved.

I am in love with this cute Leprechaun Gnome craft and can’t wait to share how to make it!

The St. Patrick’s Day craft idea uses many craft stash staples, and you may have many of the supplies already.

One of the more unusual elements is a cotton mop head, which you can buy cheaply in stores or online.

The cut strands of the mop are colored with orange paint to form the Leprechaun Gnome’s beard, and a wooden ball creates his signature round nose!

This craft is fun to make for all ages, so read on to get the full supplies list and start making!

Materials & Tools Used in This Craft

For your convenience, I’ve linked [some of] the materials and tools needed for this project to Amazon below. The quantities are on the craft tutorial card at the end of this post.

Jumbo Popsicle Sticks/Craft Sticks – you will need 8 sticks.
Cotton Mop Head – you will need around 30 strings from the mop to create a beard.
Wooden Ball or Bead – you will need a 1″ (2.5cm) one to create a nose.
Yellow Craft Foam – to create a hat buckle.
Green Felt – to create a shamrock embellishment.
Green Button – for the center of the shamrock.
Rainbow Ribbon – you could also use green or gold ribbon.
Acrylic Craft Paints – in the following colors: Bright Green, Black, and Orange.
Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks – to stick everything together. You can use liquid glue if you prefer but will have to wait for it to dry between steps.
Large (Gallon) Zipper Bag – for coloring the mop strings with paint.
Garbage Bag – for laying the painted mop strings on to dry.
Scissors
Paintbrush – this is a set of paintbrushes of various sizes and types for different types of paint and glue.
Leprechaun Gnome Craft Pattern – click to download the PDF which you can print on either US Letter or A4 paper sizes. Opens in a new tab.

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Cheap Craft Supplies

This can be a budget-friendly craft using supplies you may already have or that can be purchased cheaply in stores:

If you’re in the USA, check out your local Dollar Store or Dollar Tree; and if you’re in the UK, the Poundshop, The Range, Wilko, and Baker Ross are great places to shop for cheap and inexpensive craft supplies.

To the rest of the world reading this – I don’t know every cheap store out there – sorry! But please do hunt the ones out in your location for crafting bargains!

How Do I Make A Craft Stick Leprechaun Gnome?

The printable tutorial card with the full supplies list and instructions can be found at the end of this post.

Step 1 – Prepare Mop Strings: Cut approximately 30 individual strings from the cotton mop head with scissors.

Get them damp under running water, squeeze the excess water out, and place them in a large (gallon) zipper bag.

Step 2 – Paint Mop Strings: Squeeze some orange paint into the bag of damp mop strings and zip it closed.

Squish the paint into the cotton mop strings until they are all coated.

Turn out the orange mop strings onto a garbage bag, and set them aside to dry.

Step 3 – Make Hat: To make the Leprechaun Gnome’s hat, line up five craft sticks on your work surface.

Use scissors to trim additional sticks to the width of the hat and attach them with a glue gun and glue sticks towards the top and bottom of the five sticks to secure them in place.

Flip the hat over and glue one craft stick to the hat base to create the brim.

Trim one stick to the width of the hat to become the hat band. Set the hat band to one side.

Step 4 – Paint Hat and Band: Basecoat the entire hat with bright green paint. Leave to dry, and apply a second coat, if necessary. Basecoat the hat band with black acrylic craft paint. Leave to dry, and apply a second coat, if necessary.

Step 5 – Finish Hat Band: Glue the black hat band to the hat.

Download, print, and cut out the free printable Leprechaun Gnome Craft Pattern.

Trace the buckle onto yellow craft foam with a pencil, cut it out using scissors (or a craft knife if you prefer), then attach it to the center of the hat band with a glue gun.

Step 6 – Create Beard: Flip the Leprechaun Gnome hat over to the reverse side and attach 15 of the dried painted mop strings along the bottom edge of the sticks.

Glue 15 more strings on as a second layer. (Use the images below as a guide.)

Step 7 – Attach Nose: Glue the wooden bead/ball to the top center of the Leprechaun Gnome’s beard.

Step 8 – Make & Add Embellishments: Trace the shamrock pattern onto the green felt. Cut it out and stick a green button to the center of the shamrock, then glue the shamrock to the hat where desired.

Tie the ribbon into a bow, cutting dovetails at each end if desired. Glue onto the hat buckle.

Ensure all elements are dried before displaying the Leprechaun Gnome on your mantle!

More St. Patrick’s Day Crafts

Looking for more crafts to make for St. Patrick’s Day? Right-click and open these in a new tab to read next!

I’ve shared lots of great craft ideas on The Purple Pumpkin Blog over the years, in fact, there are 100+ crafts to make and do at home for you to try!

Craft Tips

You can use liquid craft glue for this project, but you will have to wait for it to dry.
Once you know how to make a Leprechaun Gnome for St. Patrick’s Day you can make them for all sorts of holidays and occasions!
Here are some ideas to try:
- Red hat and pink beard with heart embellishments for Valentine’s Day.
- Red hat and white beard with holly embellishments for Christmas.
- Purple hat and black beard with pumpkin embellishments for Halloween.

Printable Leprechaun Gnome Craft Tutorial Card

To save ink, any demonstration photos do not print on the tutorial card.

Craft Stick Leprechaun Gnome Craft

Yield: 1

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: Beginner

The leprechaun gnome is a fun activity to do for St. Patrick's Day and is a fun piece of holiday decor too!

Materials

Cotton Mop Head
8 Jumbo Craft Sticks
Wooden Ball or Bead (1"/2.5cm)
Yellow Craft Foam
Green Felt
1 Small Green Button
Rainbow Striped Ribbon
Acrylic Craft Paint – Bright Green, Black, Orange
Leprechaun Gnome Craft Pattern

Tools

Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Large (Gallon) Zipper Bag
Garbage Bag
Scissors
Paintbrush

Instructions

Cut approximately 30 individual strings from the cotton mop head with scissors. Get them damp under running water, squeeze the excess water out, and place them in a large zipper bag.
Squeeze some orange paint into the bag of damp mop strings and zip it closed. Squish the paint into the cotton mop strings until they are all coated. Turn out the orange mop strings onto a garbage bag, and set them aside to dry.
To make the Leprechaun Gnome’s hat, line up five craft sticks on your work surface. Use scissors to trim additional sticks to the width of the hat and attach them with a glue gun and glue sticks towards the top and bottom of the five sticks to secure them in place. Flip the hat over and glue one craft stick to the hat base to create the brim. Trim one stick to the width of the hat to become the hat band. Set the hat band to one side.
Basecoat the entire hat with bright green paint. Leave to dry, and apply a second coat, if necessary. Basecoat the hat band with black acrylic craft paint. Leave to dry, and apply a second coat, if necessary.
Glue the black hat band to the hat. Download, print, and cut out the free printable Leprechaun Gnome Craft Pattern. Trace the buckle onto yellow craft foam with a pencil, cut it out using scissors (or a craft knife if you prefer), then attach it to the center of the hat band with a glue gun.
Flip the Leprechaun Gnome hat over to the reverse side and attach 15 of the dried painted mop strings along the bottom edge of the sticks. Glue 15 more strings on as a second layer. (Use the images below as a guide.)
Glue the wooden bead/ball to the top center of the Leprechaun Gnome’s beard.
Trace the shamrock pattern onto the green felt. Cut it out and stick a green button to the center of the shamrock, then glue the shamrock to the hat where desired. Tie the ribbon into a bow, cutting dovetails at each end if desired. Glue onto the hat buckle. Ensure all elements are dried before displaying the Leprechaun Gnome on your mantle!

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Craft Stick Leprechaun Gnome Craft with Mop Beard!

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