Paint Chip Shamrock Mosaics

Here is an idea I found on Pinterest, of course. It is really simple to do and doesn't take long to prepare for. The other day, I was picking up some red and blue paint chips since I am planning to paint Logan's room at some point, so I grabbed half a dozen various shades of green as well. This was more than enough to make two shamrocks. Here is the source of the original idea.

Now that we have done this for St. Patrick's Day, I think we will try it again for different holidays: hearts for Valentine's Day, eggs for Easter, Christmas trees, flowers for Mother's Day, and so on. I think it could work for just about any occasion. Goodness knows I have enough paint chips around here...

{Shamrocks by Logan, Age 3 and Mia, Age 6}

Materials:

• shamrock template
• cardstock
• printer
• paint chips
• scissors
• glue stick or glue
• bowl/s to hold paint chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Print off the desired number of shamrocks, or draw your own. I decided to make it easy on myself by using a template I found online. I printed our shamrocks on white cardstock for extra sturdiness. Next time, I think I will try using green cardstock instead. Tip: You can manipulate this with word processing software, if desired. For example, the shamrock was a little smaller than I wanted, so I copied it into Microsoft Word and enlarged it before printing.
2. Cut out shamrocks.
3. Cut your paint chips into squares with scissors. Tip: You can lay several on top on each other to make this process go a bit faster.
4. Give each child a template and some paint chips. Tip: I put paint chips into two different bowls to prevent squabbles.
5. Have kids glue paint chips onto the shamrocks. Allow glue to dry completely before displaying shamrocks. Tip: You could also have them decorate both sides to create hanging decorations.