Color Mixing Clovers: These kid-made watercolor shamrock clover cards are a great, hands-on way for young children to discover how primary colors mix and create secondary colors! They’re also fun for handing out as St. Patrick’s Day favors with a lucky treat inside.

Shamrock Cards – Materials:

Watercolor paper (you could use cardstock as well, just be sure it is a bit thicker)
Blue and yellow watercolor paints
Water
Small containers
Plastic eye droppers or pipettes (you can find these in educational stores or drug stores)
Water
Heart-shaped punch (You could also use scissors to cut your own hearts. Heart punches are often on sale after Valentine’s Day!)
Glue
Pencil crayon
Blank card set

We always find these items helpful too:

Smock
Craft tray

Directions

Don your smock. Put your watercolor paint into your containers and dilute them with water, according to the directions.

Squeeze your eye dropper bulb and place it into the paint, watching it suck up the paint. (The kids may need a bit of help with the first few tries or they may experiment and figure it out themselves. It is also fun to watch the bubbles formed when decompressing the dropper bulb while in the paint! This is a perfect opportunity to talk about why this happens.)

Apply your paint droplets onto the page and watch the transformation that happens when they are in contact with each other.

Allow your paper to dry overnight. Once your paper is throughly dry, you can use a heart punch and experiment with creating clovers, gluing them to a card if you like. (You could also draw your own hearts on the back of the paper and cut them out.) One trick when using a punch is to punch around the edges of the page, trim off the excess and then go around the perimeter again.

We added a stem and a green heart to the envelope, popping in a package of gum for the children’s teachers. You can write a phrase like, “I am so lucky to have you for a teacher” or a message of your choice!

Purpose

Discovering that primary colours, when mixed, make secondary colours.
Developing one’s fine motor skills (using a punch, gluing, squeezing a eye dropper etc.)
Creating opportunities for writing.
Appreciating others.

Safety Notes

We suggest that you wear a smock and use a craft tray to protect your clothing and surfaces.
Use scissors with care and adult supervision.
Use non-toxic supplies with young children.

KID-MADE WATERCOLOR SHAMROCK CLOVER CARDS

These kid-made watercolor shamrock clover cards are a great, hands-on way for young children to discover how primary colors mix and create secondary colors! They’re also fun for handing out as St. Patrick’s Day favors with a lucky treat inside.

Materials

Watercolor paper (you could use cardstock as well, just be sure it is a bit thicker)
Blue and yellow watercolor paints
Water
Small containers
Plastic eye droppers or pipettes (you can find these in educational stores or drug stores)
Water
Heart-shaped punch (You could also use scissors to cut your own hearts. Heart punches are often on sale after Valentine’s Day!)
Glue
Pencil crayon
Blank card set
Smock
Craft tray

Instructions

Step 1. Don your smock. Put your watercolor paint into your containers and dilute them with water, according to the directions.

Step 2. Squeeze your eye dropper bulb and place it into the paint, watching it suck up the paint. (The kids may need a bit of help with the first few tries or they may experiment and figure it out themselves. It is also fun to watch the bubbles formed when decompressing the dropper bulb while in the paint! This is a perfect opportunity to talk about why this happens.)

Step 3. Apply your paint droplets onto the page and watch the transformation that happens when they are in contact with each other.

Step 4. Allow your paper to dry overnight. Once your paper is throughly dry, you can use a heart punch and experiment with creating clovers, gluing them to a card if you like. (You could also draw your own hearts on the back of the paper and cut them out.) One trick when using a punch is to punch around the edges of the page, trim off the excess and then go around the perimeter again.

Step 5. We added a stem and a green heart to the envelope, popping in a package of gum for the children’s teachers. You can write a phrase like, “I am so lucky to have you for a teacher” or a message of your choice!

Make it Your Own is a Canadian children’s website. We hope to inspire educators and families with projects to do together, explorations of various mediums and techniques and to get out into nature to source supplies. We love re-imagining items and thinking of new ways to share children’s artwork. We are often described as “an educational mom, a digital dad and their three mini-makers.

Agnes Hsu

Agnes Hsu is a mom of three and has been inspiring parents and kids to get creative with easy activities and family friendly recipes for over 10 years. She shares her love for creative play and kids food to her 2MM+ followers online. Agnes' commitment to playful learning and kindness has not only raised funds for charity but also earned features in prestigious nationwide publications.