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Home » Cardboard house » Make a Leprechaun House for St. Patrick's Day

Make a Leprechaun House for St. Patrick's Day

February 21, 2021 by Lucy 19 Comments

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Want to make something perfect for St. Patrick's Day? How about a DIY Leprechaun House with lots of personality and Irish details? I love this little cardboard house specifically made for tiny leprechauns. For this house I used a recycled box as the basic structure of the house, but if you don't have a good box for the base, there is a house pattern in the free files in the library.

DIY tiny leprechaun house or leprechaun trap

Could it be a Leprechaun trap? Well, it certainly could be a trap with a little imagination. Or if you have Bill the cat lurking about.

a real leprechaun trap with bill the cat on the lookout

And here is how you make the miniature Leprechaun house.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

What do you need to Make the Leprechaun House:

  • Free Pattern for the Leprechaun House (design no. 112 in the library)
  • Cardboard - this is my favorite when I purchase online
  • Recycled box - I used a pasta box 8" x 2.5" like this to give you an idea
  • Glue - Aleene's Original Tacky Glue worked well for this project
  • Hot glue
  • Scrapbook paper or shamrock wallpaper to line the house inside
  • Stencil material - I used some Yupo paper I had on hand, but you can use stencil acetate or even cardboard as a temporary stencil
  • Ranger Grit Paste
  • Clover Punch or the 3D Impresslits Embossing Folder with Lucky Clover
  • 26 Gauge Wire for Shamrock stems
  • Paper to cover the cardboard base - I used leftover packing paper
  • Paint colors of your choice. These are the ones I've used:
    • Picket Fence Distress Paint
    • Ground Espresso Distress Paint - one of my very favorite shades of paint
    • Brushed Corduroy Distress Paint
    • Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint
    • Mowed Lawn Distress Paint
    • Walnut Stain Distress Paint
    • Gathered Twigs Distress Paint
    • Fossilized Amber Distress Paint
    • Black Soot Distress Paint
    • Pumice Stone Distress Paint
    • Hickory Smoke Distress Paint
    • Gold Paint
  • Mod Podge
  • Gold Glitter
  • Pot of Gold - I made mine with Sculpey clay
  • A way to cut out your pattern - I used my Cricut
Leprechaun house made from cardboard adorned with shamrocks and gold glitter

Directions to make the Leprechaun House

  • Download and cut out the free pattern for the Leprechaun House
  • Stencil the stones surface on the front house piece
  • Prime and paint the house pieces - stone surface and wood shingles
  • Print and cut out the shamrock paper or use scrapbook paper for the wallpaper
  • Use the floor board paper if desired for the first floor and attic floor; cut out
  • Open up the recycled box preserving the tab on the side, then trace the pattern on the recycled box and cut out
  • Decorate the house inside and out
  • Assemble the house
  • Make the cardboard base
  • Prepare the fence and fence decor, glue around the base
  • Make the pot of gold then glue inside the Leprechaun House

To read about the details for making the Leprechaun House, continue reading.

First download and cut out the pattern

To get the free pattern from the Paper Glitter Glue library, just go here and type in the password to get access to the files in the library. If you don't have the password, just subscribe to the Paper Glitter Glue newsletter and you will get the password right away. But just know that I will never send spam. I usually send out an email every one to two weeks.

The pattern is design no. 112 in the February 2021 section of the library.

Here is how the pattern for the little Leprechaun house looks in Cricut's Design Space. The pattern is designed to go with a recycled pasta box which is 5 inches wide across the front and 2.5 inches deep. The height doesn't really matter.

Leprechaun house in Cricut Design Space

In addition, there is a separate pattern with enough shingles to fit on one sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch piece of cardboard.

Please note: The pattern is designed to go with a recycled pasta box which is 5 inches wide across the front and 2.5 inches deep. The height doesn't really matter. If you don't have a good-sized recycled box, then there is a pattern in the folder labeled "Leprechaun base house pattern" that you can use instead.

base house pattern in Cricut Design Space

But I prefer using the recycled pasta box as the base for the little Irish Cottage. All of the examples below work for this project.

Pasta boxes to dollhouse

Here's how the opened box looks with the glue tab on the left side. Use the side with the cut out for the back of the house.

open pasta box

Below you see the main front pieces of the Leprechaun House - the stone decorated front piece and the shamrock wallpaper for inside. Note the the inside is the reverse of the outside. Remember that when you are cutting it out.

painted stones for front facade and shamrock wallpaper for miniature St Patricks day house

Look at this great version that Kristi, one my of my readers, made!! She did a great job on the stones. To see how to do that, read the next step.

Tiny cardboard gnome house

Stencil the stones on the house

Stone stencil in Cricut's Design Space

The stone stencil is larger than I normally do to fit the proportions of this particular house.

After you cut out the stencil, tape it to the cardboard pieces.

tape stencil firmly to cardboard and stencil to simulate stone surface

Next, spread a thin layer of Grit paste on the stencil. Remember that you don't have to use a thick layer. In fact, it works better if you keep the layer thin.

smear texture paste for stone surface on leprechaun house

This view shows how the stone looks after removal of the stencil.

close up view of stones stenciled on front cardboard facade

Prime and paint the house pieces - stone surface and wood shingles

Oh boy! One of my very favorite things to do is textured surfaces on my paper crafts.

Stone Surface for the Miniature Leprechaun House

Since the little cottage needs a stone surface in my mind, I happily revisited this technique. You may remember my first version of the stone texture on an Irish cottage from a couple of years ago. I used exactly the same technique from the Stone Texture Tutorial.

great-stonework-on-the-leprechaun-cottage
Look at this great stone work that Dena, one of my readers, made. It's the best I've seen. She made it with the cardboard takeout carriers like from McDonalds.

Briefly, here are the steps I used to make the stone surface.

First, paint the background mortar color. I chose a light grey called pumice stone.

primer layer for simulating mortar for miniature leprechaun cottage

Then gradually layer on color. I started with lighter colors, then moved to darker colors. Hickory Stone distress paint provides the second layer of color. Then I moved to colors with more brown in them.

layers of color to simulate stone on cardboard cottage

For a detailed discussion on making the stone surface, go to the Stone Texture Tutorial.

painted stones on cardboard facade for leprechaun house

Paint shingles to look like wood

Next, paint the shingles. Just like layers of color make the stone, use layers of color to mimic wood on the shingles. Similar to the stone, I start with lighter colors and move to darker colors - Fossilized Amber to Gathered Twigs to Ground Espresso.

I used 22 rows of shingles to complete the roof.

painted wooden shingles ready to glue to cardboard roof

Two things about the making the shingles and the roof - first gently curve the roof piece to fit the roof curve on the house and glue the shingles to the roof before you glue the roof to the house. See the finished roof below.

wooden shingles made from cardboard for miniature house

Use the same effect for the windows on the outside.

painted door and window frames for St Patricks day cardboard cottage

Print and cut out the shamrock paper or use scrapbook paper for the wallpaper

There is a PDF version of shamrock wallpaper with no background in the files. If you want a different color, just print on colored paper or card stock.

Shamrock wallpaper

After you print out the wallpaper, cut out the house shape from the wallpaper. IMPORTANT - be sure to flip the pattern horizontally when you cut out the house for the inside.

Also, cut out the side pieces from the wallpaper as well.

Next, cut out floor pieces twice using the attic piece as the pattern.

Wood flooring PDF

Open up the recycled box preserving the tab on the side, then trace the pattern on the recycled box and cut out

To prepare your recycled box, open up the top and bottom flaps which we'll use for support of the floor and the roof. And then open up the side flap. Try not to tear the side flap.

Next, trace the pattern onto the cardboard box.

templates traced to recycled box for miniature St. Patricks day cottage

Cut out and prime both sides of the cardboard.

prime the outside recycled box framework for cardboard house

Decorate the house inside and out

This part is pretty easy because all you have to do is glue the decorated pieces to the inside and outside of the house. Use tacky glue to glue the stone surface to the outside. Also glue the shutters in place. I cut the solid shutters in green as backing for the wood shutters. The green also looks good from the inside.

Wait until the house is assembled before gluing the floor in place.

front view of leprechaun house in progress

Mod Podge works well to glue the wallpaper in place.

shamrock wallpaper glued inside of leprechaun house

Assemble the Leprechaun House

If you want to have an attic floor, now is the time to add it. Glue one flap to the front inside of the little house at the level of the cross piece on the back of the house. I hope that makes sense.

Then apply glue to all the flaps on the attic piece and the side flap.

Now, fold the house together. Glue the bottom of the box back together. Let dry.

The next thing to do is assemble support for the roof. Here is where you glue the roof flaps together. What are roof flaps? They are the flaps on the side that support front and back gables. If you don't have roof flaps, it's hard to keep the gables ends in line.

You'll see that the flaps are taller than the roof. That's ok. Glue them together, then trim to size/

cardboard roof flaps glued together before trimming to size

Here's a photo showing the trimmed roof flaps.

glue roof flaps together to support the cardboard leprechaun house

Apply a thick bead of glue to hold the roof flaps just behind the gables. Painter's tape helps here to hold the flaps in place.

painter's tape helps hold the roof flaps to front and back of recycled box house

It may be a little difficult to see, but the dried glue holds gables properly.

dried glue holds roof flaps in place to gables

And the final structural part of the house is to glue the roof in place. Before you glue the roof to the house, be sure to gently curve the roof to fit the curve of the house. Do a test fit first before you apply glue to the gable edges of the roof.

After placing the roof on the house, gently hold it so roof adheres to curved shape.

That completes the assembly of the house.

Make a cardboard base for your house

This is a simple step. Simply glue 3-4 layers of corrugated cardboard together with hot glue. My base is 8 inches across the front and 6 inches deep.

8 by 6 corrugated cardboard base for Leprechaun hous

Then cover the cardboard base with paper. Generally, I use crumpled packing paper adhered with Mod Podge to cover my base.

Paint the color of your choice.

Make the fence

I love the fence as the framing element for the little cottage. One important thing to me is to make my little houses sturdy. That means that when I make a fence I don't want it to get crunched easily. In order to do that, I glue two layers of fencing together and score them where they fold around the base.

cut out cardboard fence pieces for miniature leprechaun house

In addition, to get give more dimension to the fence, glue extra pickets on the surface. The photo below shows how those extra pickets add depth to the fencing.

cardboard fence dimension with paper shamrocks

What final details does a Leprechaun House need? A pot of gold and clovers, of course.

Finally, make a little pot of gold. Simply cover a ball of aluminum foil with black Sculpey clay. Then coat the top of the aluminum foil with glue and dump gold glitter on top.

aluminum ball and sculpey form old pot for gold

Make gold coins by punching some circles out of cardboard and paint them gold. You can even make stacks of gold coins by gluing them together.

tiny pot of gold inside miniature irish cottage

To give a even more dimension to the fencing, glue 2 card stock clovers together with a stem of 26 gauge floral wire. Trim the stems and hot glue to the outside of the fence. Cover up the hot glue with an additional clover.

You can dust some gold glitter around as well.

And that's it - that's how you make your Leprechaun house or even a Leprechaun trap. I hope you have fun.

I am entering this project in the Frilly and Funkie "Mostly Neutral" challenge. The Leprechaun house fits because almost all the colors are neutral - the exception is the green base and a few little touches of gold.

I am also entering this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge using your favorite technique which is of course, the stone texture. I just love to mimicl stone in my paper craft projects.

If you have any questions, email me at [email protected]

Lucy

P.S. Here is Bill waiting on a leprechaun to appear.

bill waiting for leprechauon on the leprechaun cottage
« Make a Paper House with Your Cricut
Make a Quick and Easy St. Patrick's Day Card »

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Comments

  1. Jeanne Kahle-Potts

    February 21, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    I love this. There aren’t enough crafts for St. Patrick’s day. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 21, 2021 at 7:23 pm

      I agree. We do need more St.Patrick's Day crafts.

      Thank you so much.

      Reply
  2. katherine leggett

    February 21, 2021 at 8:00 pm

    this house is so cute thank you for sharing it

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 21, 2021 at 9:04 pm

      Katherine,

      It means a lot when people like my little houses. Thank you to taking the time to let me know.

      Lucy

      Reply
  3. Shirl Watts

    February 21, 2021 at 8:30 pm

    Awesome, love the house!

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 21, 2021 at 8:59 pm

      That makes me happy. I am so glad you like it, Shirl.

      Reply
  4. Lee

    February 22, 2021 at 3:03 am

    Oh, Wow! This is adorable! Thank you, for taking the time to provide in-depth instructions. This is great for a newbie like me.

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 22, 2021 at 3:15 am

      Lee,

      I am happy that you like the in-depth instructions. I always wonder if it is worth the time to write all that down, but I am so glad that it helps you. This is an easy house to build.

      Thank you.
      Lucy

      Reply
  5. mary bender

    February 22, 2021 at 7:40 am

    Oh My This is wonderful, Your instructions are so precise. I never before thought of making a stencil , Now I know how , thank you so much

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 22, 2021 at 6:09 pm

      Thank you, Mary. Yes, we can make stencils specific for a project. I needed larger stones so that's why I had to make a proportionate stencil for this little house.

      Lucy

      Reply
  6. Emily

    February 22, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    This is awesome!! I especially like the last photo with Bill the cat showing how little and cute the house is. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 22, 2021 at 6:07 pm

      Bill is such a cool cat, but he does jump in the light box when I try to take photos. He does help for perspective though, doesn't he?

      Thank you, Emily.

      Reply
    • Bobbi

      February 22, 2021 at 9:01 pm

      Lucy,
      This house is fabulous for St. Patrick’s Day! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity and how-to with us. Looking forward to your next post.

      Reply
  7. Sara Emily Barker

    February 23, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    Lucy, I am tickled pink that you made this little Leprechaun house and shared it with us at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog! It's perfect for our Mostly Neutral challenge with that lifelike stone wall and shingled roof. So wonderful!

    Reply
    • Lucy

      February 23, 2021 at 9:35 pm

      I am so happy that the design fit the challenge because I was already working on it before I found your challenge. I am so glad you think it is perfect.

      Thank you so much.

      Lucy

      Reply
  8. stampersuzz

    March 02, 2021 at 6:20 pm

    Sweet little retreat for Mr. Leprechaun! Thanks for sharing with us at The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

    Reply
    • Lucy

      March 02, 2021 at 9:01 pm

      Thank you. I am so glad you like it. I love your shop!!

      Lucy

      Reply
  9. Myrna Smith

    March 06, 2022 at 12:18 am

    Thznk you for sharing your Leprechan house. I got most of it cut out.
    I want to finish it for my daughter (teaches grade 3) and her class.

    Reply
    • Lucy

      March 06, 2022 at 12:21 pm

      I would love to see it when you are done. If you like, you can send it to me by email - [email protected] or in the Paper Glitter Glue Facebook group.

      Reply

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Lucy author of paperglitterglue blog

I'm Lucy - the crafter behind Paper Glitter Glue. I just love to make things - mostly from paper or cardboard. I hope to inspire you to make fun stuff too. So look around and find something to MAKE. You can read more about me here.

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