These beaded pipe cleaner shamrocks are SO CUTE and they're so easy to make! This is such a great St. Patrick's Day craft and a super fun activity for kids.
Line up the ends of all 3 pipe cleaners then twist them together.
Starting at one end, twist the pipe cleaners together along a 4 inch length. Then spread apart the 3 open ends of the pipe cleaner.
Add about 25 pony beads to each pipe cleaner. It doesn't have to be exactly 25, but it does help to make the shamrock look uniform if you count the beads to make sure there's an equal number of beads on each one.
After you've added the beads, take the end of one of the beaded pipe cleaners and bend it into a loop. Twist the end of the pipe cleaner onto the opposite end to close the loop.
Repeat for the other 2 pipe cleaners. You'll have 3 loops with a 1 inch length of twisted pipe cleaner before the main stem.
Twist the 3 loops together at the top of the stem.
Twist until the loops sit tight on the end of the stem without a gap.
Bend the end of the stem upwards and back onto itself to shorten it so that the stem is only about 2 to 3 inches long.
Twist all the pipe cleaners in the stem together.
Bend and shape the pipe cleaners - both the loops and the stem - until you're happy with the shape of your shamrock!