# Shamrock Printing
> Hot glue three heart cookie cutters into a shamrock shape, dip them in green paint and print shamrocks across butcher paper. Kids then fill in the shapes and add stems with a toothbrush. An easy St. Patrick's Day art activity even toddlers can manage.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/st-patricks-day-activities-shamrock-printing/
- Ages: 2–6 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium
- Time: prep 20 min, activity 20 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class
- Skills: fine-motor, sensory-exploration, shapes, language

## Materials (one batch)
- 3 piece Heart cookie cutters
- 1 piece Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Green paint
- 1 piece Paper plate for the paint (household)
- Butcher paper
- Tape (household)
- 1 piece Toothbrush (household)

## Substitutions
- Instead of heart cookie cutters: One single heart cookie cutter (For an older child: print a shamrock by rotating the same cutter or the paper. This is hard for toddlers, which is why the author glued three together.)

## Safety
- Adult only: hot glue the cookie cutters together before the kids arrive, and let the glue cool and set fully.
- Use non-toxic, washable kids' paint and supervise toddlers closely so paint doesn't end up in mouths.
- Use a toothbrush set aside for crafts only, not one used for teeth.
- Check the glued cutters for sharp metal edges or loose glue strings before handing them to small children.

## Before you start
- Adult: hot glue 3 heart cookie cutters together, points in, to make a shamrock look-alike. Let the glue cool and set.

## Steps
1. Tape butcher paper over the entire table.
2. Pour a big dose of green paint onto a plate.
3. Hold the shamrock cookie cutter with all your fingers and dip its edges into the paint.
4. Press the cutter onto the paper and lift it up to see your shamrock print.
5. Dip and print again and again all over the paper.
6. Use a toothbrush to fill in the shamrocks with paint.
7. Brush on a stem for each shamrock.
8. Talk about St. Patrick's Day and shamrocks while you print, then let the paper dry.

## Tips
- If you are partial to your cookie cutters, I was able to get mine back by simply soaking them in warm water and soap.
- My toddler quickly learned to hold the hot glued cookie cutters using all her fingers and went about printing and going "wow".
- For my toddler this art activity was a sensory experience and a fine motor exercise.
- Hands on activities like these are a great way to learn new concepts just by "simply having a conversation".
- We did it on our outdoor table, with butcher paper taped over the whole area.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2013)

The last time we did a printing activity my toddler had a great deal fun creating and experimenting with colors and textures. With St Patrick’s day coming around, we got arty with heart cookie cutters to create shamrocks. Today’s St Patrick’s day craft is an easy one – shamrock printing. For an older child it would be great practice to use one heart cookie cutter to create shamrocks by rotating the same cutter or the paper. With a toddler around that kind of activity will be hard to accomplish. So glue gun to th rescue. I simply **hot glued my 3 heart cookie cutters to make a shamrock look-alike.** If you are partial to your cookie cutters, I’ll just let you know I was able to retrieve mine by simply soaking them in warm water and soap. By the way, my cookie cutters are those 2/$1 cookie cutters. Here is our hot glued hearts cookie cutter.  With a giant dose of green paint and the cookie cutter invite your little ones for a fun St Patrick’s day craft.  I taped butcher paper to cover the entire area of my outdoor table and the kids had a go at the paint and printing.  Once the kids made the prints, they used a toothbrush to fill in the shamrock and add stems.  This was a great way to talk about St. Patrick’s day and shamrocks. Our earlier [**rainbow craft**](https://www.funlittles.com/plate-rainbow-craft/) introduced the holiday and with this St Patrick’s day craft we continued talking about the holiday with a fun new addition- shamrocks.  Hands on activities like these have been proving to be a great way to learn new concepts just by “simply having a conversation”.  For my toddler this art activity was a **sensory experience and a fine motor exercise**. She quickly learned the way to hold the hot glued cookie cutters using all her fingers and went about printing and going “wow”.  ***[Have you seen our](https://www.funlittles.com/plate-rainbow-craft/)***

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