How to make a St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun yard decoration

Design and sketch Leprechaun display. (J.C. Howald, Arch.c)

Almost every year as St. Patrick's Day approaches gardeners in Fort Worth, Texas think of Leprechauns, some try to think of how they can help celebrate by putting up a yard decoration. Since Leprechauns usually elicit happy thoughts it brings joy to the neighborhoods when everyone passing sees the decorations.  Learn how easy it is to do, design and make a yard decoration that celebrates St. Pattys Day in a fun way.  Use recycled materials and get the whole family involved in decorating your yard and garden for this festive occassion. It's cheap and takes only a few hours.

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How to make a St. Paddys Day Leprechaun

Things you'll need:

• Recycled scrap wood or plywood for St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun yard decoration, wood for mounting stakes
• Sketch graph paper and pencil
• Leprechaun picture or sketch
• Measuring tape
• Saw, sandpaper, wood filler for edges of plywood
• Glue and galvanized nails or screws
• Glue and galvanized snail  or screws
• Hammer and power screwdriver
• Exterior paints and brushes

See also

How to make a garden box

Find a picture of a Leprechaun.  (flickr.com)

Find a picture of a Leprechaun or sketch one yourself.   A good on-line source for pictures of a Leprechaun is Flickr.com. It has many free pictures available for printing and use. Sketch or copy the picture using graph paper.  Plan and design it to fit on a recycled piece of plywood.  Enlarge your picture or sketch with an artists projector or take it to a copy store to get it to the right size for yard display.  Save money by using the  enlargement features of a black and white copy machine. Then tape together sections of the enlarged Leprechaun picture or sketch to make paper cut out template.

Option:  Draw Leprechaun picture directly onto clean scrap plywood surface.

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How to make a garden shed window box

Find a clean piece of recycled plywood. (flickr.com)

Use recycled scrap plywood for your Leprechaun yard decoration.  Trace your enlarged picture copy onto the plywood or mark the outline of Leprechaun online picuture using a soft pencil on back of the paper template.  Turn over paper , press firmly with a pencil or scribe and trace the image outline onto plywood.  You can also draw by hand directly on the  clean plywood as mentioned as an option in Step One. Be sure and clean recycled plywood before transferring Leprechaun image.

Use the same scrap pile where you found the plywood for the Pot-O-Gold- Rainbow yard decoration for St. Pattys Day.

See also 

How to plant inside window tray

Use jigsaw to cut recycled plywood Leprechaun.  (flickr.com)

Cut Leprechaun display image out of plywood.  Use jigsaw to cut, avoid rubbing off pencil lines of image outline. Sand edges of plywood cut out, fill openings between plywood edge layers with wood filler. Let filler dry an do final sanding to smooth edges.

Wear protective gear and use caution when operating jigsaw and power tools.  Always use a grounded three-pronged electrical outlet, be  sure cutting does not occur when earth  is wet.

Set plywood with outline on back on level, flat,  surface taking time and care when cutting.  Don't worry about a perfectly cut outline, this is  not a fine work of art. After painting colors, the display should have a black line on outside to emphasize the outline. Refer to painting step at end.

 See also 

How to plant Easter Lilly in pot

Make pointed end on stakes.  (J.C. Howald, Architect)

Make one or two anchor stakes for mounting to plywood cutout.  Size of your yard display determines how many stakes to cut.  Use recycled wood or plywood, cut, fill, and sand edges of stake cut out, if necessary, similar to Leprechaun piece,.   Stakes should cover full height of back of plywood Leprechaun and extend 18-24 “ below bottom.

Measure thickness of stake and plywood cut out to determine  length of fasteners.

Nail or screw support stakes to rear side of Leprechaun cutout.  Use  galvanized or brass fasteners. Fasteners should not penetrate front of Leprechaun cutout.  If necessary, clip off ends flush with plywood surface and fill with wood filler prior to painting display.

Paint Leprechaun St. Patrick's Day yard display. Use exterior brushes and paints to apply two or three coats of appropriate color paint to match picture.  Let paint dry between coats. Push your new Leprechaun Saint Patrick's Day yard decoration into the ground in a prominent spot in our front yard. 

This jolly Leprechaun would be a nice display....as would this sign.

Add other St. Patty day decorations like Pot-O-Gold and Shamrocks. These should go well with your new four-leafed clover or Shamrock door decoration you recently made. Ask your friends and neighbors over to see your special St. Patrick's Day yard decorations and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style!

 Watch the local St. Patrick’s Day parade and join in the festivities.

See also 

 How to build garden compost bin from recycled materials

Tips and Warnings:

• Check and measure size of yard decoration carefully before making. It should be large enough to be easily seen from street.
• Look for pre-made accessory St. Patrick's Day at crafts stores to add to yard display.
• Be sure everything you display is secured to the ground.
• Remove dirt and debris off of plywood or paint may not stick.
• Use jigsaw and power screwdriver operation with care.
  

See also  

 How to make a garden timber cross

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How to make a garden shed St. Patrick's Day decoration Let visitors to your garden see your Irish celebration!
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