Make a Magic Leprechaun Pouch

What You Need:

• Two 9" x 12” pieces of green felt
• Craft glue or hot glue gun
• Gold stick-on hearts, jewels, and other decorative elements
• Gold glitter paint
• White embroidery thread or lightweight yarn
• Embroidery needle
• Green sewing thread (to match the green felt)
• Standard needle
• Lightweight white paper and gold marker
• Gold foil–wrapped chocolate coins

What You Do:

1. Use one of the green felt rectangles to cut a 3" circle and a 5" circle. The other rectangle should remain as-is.
2. Cut about 36 inches of embroidery thread or yarn, and thread it through the eye of an embroidery needle. Double the yarn and make a knot at the end.
3. Hold the uncut green felt rectangle horizontally, and then pull the ends together to make a tube. Use the white thread to whipstitch the ends together, like this:
   


4. Now turn the tube inside out, and sew the wider of the two circles to one end, to make a bottom for your pouch, like this:
   
5. Turn the whole pouch inside out again. Now you've got a bottom on your bag. If you look inside you'll see the seam you just made. Now it's time to make your "magic" pouch bottom. Place a bead of glue along the seam, only two-thirds of the way around, like this:
   
6. Place the smaller circle on top of the big one, so that it's glued securely along two-thirds of the circumference of the circle, but one-third is unattached. This will be your "secret flap."
   


7. Now, decorate the front of your pouch with a shamrock design, using the stick-on felt hearts, the gold stick-on jewels, and gold glitter paint, like this:
   
8. Thread your embroidery needle with another 30 inches of white yarn. Double the yarn and make a knot at the end. Next, sew big white stitches in a circle, about 1 inch below the very top of the bag. Leave several inches at each end, and clip. This will be the "drawstring" for your pouch!


9. Cut a 2” x 4” strip of the white paper and write a “lucky leprechaun” message for your chosen audience. (Use alliteration—where every word begins with the same letter—to work in some literary device practice!) For example, you could use the letter L to write the following: Listen! Lucky leprechauns love leaving little limericks! Alternatively, write a limerick using this worksheet for inspiration.
10. Now you're ready to set up your magic trick. Carefully insert the paper between the two bottom layers of the magic pouch. Add a gold foil-wrapped chocolate coin for an extra sweet surprise! 
11. When you are ready to perform your magic trick, stand up in front of your audience. Hold the pouch open so that it looks empty. Announce to your audience that there is nothing in the pouch, but add, “If I conjure up a leprechaun, I may get a magical reply!” Add a bit of blarney (flattering talk) to coax some leprecaun magic from the pouch. 
12. Make a big show of reaching into the bag to pull out the secret paper and optional gold coin hidden inside. Ceremoniously read the message or poem, and then give the chocolate to one lucky audience member.

Even if leprechauns aren't real (and no one is saying they aren't), they can still bring their marvelous magic to a fun and festive holiday!