Make “Leprechaun Gold” Air-Dry Clay Gold Coins

To make your own air-dry clay leprechaun gold coins you’ll need:

How to Make Clay Leprechaun Gold – DIY Instructions

Use our easy DIY leprechaun treasure tutorial to quickly guide you through the process of creating this fun clay craft with your kids.

Roll out a small block of air-dry clay.

On an old cookie sheet or other flat, clean surface, roll out a slab of clay to about 1/4-inch thickness using a rolling pin or dowel rod. I used about a half pound of clay (about the size of an adult fist) to make 12 coins.

Cut small circles out of your clay.

Cut circles out of your rolled-out clay using a cookie cutter, jar lid, or similar (I used a recycled plastic juice bottlecap to make 2-inch circles). Pull the excess clay away from the circles and put them to the side.

You can knead together the excess pieces, roll out again, and cut out more circles until you’ve used up all the clay, or simply put the excess back in the container.

Stamp decorations into your clay.

Use small rubber stamps, wood cutouts, or similar items to stamp decorations into your coins. I made a DIY clay stamp in the shape of a shamrock (tutorial coming soon!) but you can easily use other items you might already have around the house to create festive imprints in your coins.

Experiment with using household items as clay stamps.

The tines of a fork make fantastic coin edges, lines of dots, and other patterns. A plastic spool creates a unique imprint that resembles imagery on the old Irish coins I looked up for reference. Look around your own home to see if there are household items you can experiment with.

Let dry for 48-72 hours.

Lay your clay coins on a cookie sheet or similar flat surface and leave them in a warm, dry spot for 48-72 hours (until bone dry). You’ll know your leprechaun coins are bone dry (a clay term!) when they feel room temperature to the touch. If they feel cool, they likely still need a bit of drying time. To dry them a bit faster, you can put them on a baking rack to help air dry air circulate, or use a piece of parchment paper to soak up excess evaporation.

Now, Crayola gives strict instructions not to dry air-dry clay in an oven. However, because I’m a little impatient and wanted to finish these on a weekend…I DID use the oven, and they turned out FINE. The key is to put these in the oven while it’s off, turn the temp to 175, then bake only for about 20-30 minutes. They won’t fully dry out, but this shortcut will allow you to cut down on drying time and move on to the final step within 24 hours.

If you need these to turn out perfectly the first time, you might not want to attempt baking and just stick with air-drying. The risk with using an oven to speed up drying is that air-dry clay has a tendency to crack when it dries out too quickly. I didn’t notice any cracking issues, but oven-drying depends on many conditions (humidity, type of clay, etc.), so be aware it comes with risks, and use speed-drying with caution.

Paint your clay coins gold and let dry.

Paint your coins using gold acrylic or tempera paint, letting them dry a full 24 hours before use.

Six Ways to Play With Your Handmade Leprechaun Gold

1. Go on a leprechaun treasure hunt.

Hide your gold coins around the house for a St. Patrick’s Day treasure hunt! You can Provide clues or a treasure map to guide them on their adventure. This type of play activity is a wonderful way to encourage problem-solving and teamwork.

2. Search for DIY pirate treasure.

For little ones who love the fantasy of it all, pair this activity with an afternoon of scrap fabric DIY treasure map making, then go on an adventure in search of pirate loot. For an afternoon of pirate dramatic play, kids can even dress up as pirates and use the DIY gold coins as part of their imaginative play. They can pretend to trade, steal, or bury their handmade treasure while developing their creativity and storytelling skills.

3. Make a buried treasure sensory play bin.

You can easily put together a hands-on, exploratory play activity for younger kids who would like to get in on the pirate play fun. Fill a shallow container with a sensory filler (sand, rice, even shredded paper). Bury the DIY gold coins in the filler (you can also add other treasure-themed items, gems, or small toy figurines, etc. to enhance the sensory experience) and let little ones dig for treasure in a fun dry sensory bin. Digging tools like shovels, rakes, tongs, and measuring cups add a bit of fine motor skill practice too!

4. Practice coin counting.

Use a plastic, wooden, or cardboard number set to stamp coin amounts into your clay, then set up shop, letting your little one play the role of storekeeper. Help kids practice essential math skills by having them count, sort, and stack the gold coins. Use your handmade gold pieces for basic currency addition and subtraction, even multiplication and division.

5. Play a leprechaun gold memory game.

Sort of a few pairs of coins that have matching stamps or patterns. Flip the matching sets over so they’re all face down and play a leprechaun gold game of memory.

You can also place a set number of gold coins on a table and cover them with a cloth. Have the kids take turns looking under the cloth for a few seconds before trying to memorize the position of each coin. Remove the cloth, and have them attempt to recreate the arrangement from memory.

6. Write a leprechaun adventure.

Use your DIY gold or treasure as a story-telling or writing prompt, and invite your kids to tell a story about where it came from or who it belongs to. They can use the coins as characters or props, invent stories about the origins of the coins, or plan adventures that involve finding and protecting the treasure. This activity fosters creativity and language skills.