Talk about the luck of the Irish! My hubby has a closet full of shoes that he can’t wear anymore. Well, I don’t know if that’s actually lucky; you see, one of our fur babies has a shoe fetish. Especially when it comes to my hubby’s shoes 😀 And he has quite a few that have lost their sole mate. Something needed to be done, and with St Paddy’s Day around the corner, it seemed like a good idea to recycle one of those lonely soles into a Lucky Leprechaun Shoe Planter. I mean, who doesn’t love a good shoe upcycle?!
It looks pretty Leprechaunish, right? Is that even a word? Legend has it that these cheerful and mischievous sprites spend a lot of time making and mending shoes. That is, if they’re not chasing pots of gold at the end of the rainbow or dancing the night away. Just like my hubby 😉
It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.
What you need
For this lucky Leprechaun shoe planter, you’ll need the following:
- A piece of wire, masking tape, and aluminum foil
- Some sheet moss or reindeer moss and glue. We used E6000
- Black ribbon and craft foam
- Green spray paint and a small bell (optional)
- A closed shoe and pot that fits nicely inside the shoe
This is the poor shoe that we used for the planter.
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How to Make a Lucky Leprechaun Shoe Planter
Give the shoe a good wipe to remove any grimy, dirty bits, and then use the tape to mask off the sole. You can skip this step, but it makes the finished planter look classy. Leprechauns love looking smart 😉 Cut a piece of wire twice your shoe’s length and push it into the toe.
Bend the wire to form a curved shape, as shown above. Next, take some aluminum foil and tear it into strips. Press the aluminum foil to the toe of the shoe and stick it down with masking tape. Start scrunching and wrapping the foil around the wire to give it a “hornish” shape.
Once you’re happy with the look, cover the aluminum foil with masking tape before painting the whole thing green.
If you don’t have spray paint, don’t worry too much. I just find it makes it easier when you add the moss later. It hides any gaps. Once the paint has dried, remove the masking tape from around the sole before adding lots of sticky, tacky, gooey glue onto the shoe. While the glue is still wet, grab some of that moss and squish it into the glue. It’s best to work in sections until the whole shoe is covered. We did the same thing when we made this little fairy toadstool and this beautiful mosaic and moss mannequin with her faux concrete paint effect.
Adding the Finishing Touches
To finish the Lucky Leprechaun shoe planter, cut a buckle shape out of craft foam and paint it gold. Cut a piece of black ribbon to fit around the top part of the shoe and glue the ribbon and the buckle down.
Finally, glue a small bell onto the toe, fill the pot with flowers and insert it inside the shoe planter.
We planted some Creeping Jenny in ours. She’s native to Ireland, and her Irish name, Lus an dá phingin translates as ‘Two-penny plant’ or Moneywort 😉 Quite appropriate for a Leprechaun planter, don’t you think? We also added a few beautiful yellow pansies. They always remind me of Spring and chubby-faced little babies. So cute.
I’d love to know what you think of the idea. Is it something you’d make for St Patrick’s Day and welcome in Spring? Let me know in the comments.
If you like the idea of making a leprechaun shoe planter, don’t forget to share it with your friends and save it to Pinterest.
Pssssst, if you’re keen to make something else for St Paddy’s day, then why not try this really easy Leprechaun bottle topper or this gorgeous mossy boot planter?
Oh, and if the moss on your Leprechaun shoe planter starts fading, here’s a great tutorial showing you how to revive moss and make it look fresh and new again.
BTW if you want to make your own, I’ve saved you the hassle of trying to find some of the materials we’ve used. Disclosure: If you click the links below, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry, it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us feed our fur babies real food instead of shoes 😉
Or, if you prefer to buy rather than DIY 😉 (I really want those black shoes)
And as always, here’s wishing you a beautiful, crafty week filled with lots of love. Thank you for popping in for a visit. ♧Sláinte Mhaith♧
Last update on 2026-04-23 / Source Amazon Affiliates
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