Shamrock & Flower Card Making

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Today's activity was a more simple craft that we did to celebrate St. Patrick's day this upcoming week and to give back to others. As per usual, most of the residents were waiting in the activity room when I arrived. Everyone was excited to hear what new activity I had planned for this week. I had a total of six residents participate today, which is about the weekly average. Everyone had a fun time and we even spent a good amount of time sitting around the table talking afterwards.

Understanding Why

This activity does not directly utilize gardening or planting, but it incorporates flowers and plants with opportunities for social engagement and self expression. According to a review by Bukhave et al. (2025), showed that there is a multitude of benefits for older adults that participate in craft interventions such as increased social skills, mood, well-being, self-esteem, quality of life, and more. In turn, it is also bringing together the effects of horticulture through incorporating plants and growth, even if it is only a picture.

Step By Step Process

1. Pre-activity preparation

To prepare for this activity, I printed out shamrock and flower stencils for the residents to trace. I made sure to create different sizes for each and multiple stencils so that there would be plenty to go around. I also created an example for the residents.

2. Show example and explain purpose of activity

At the beginning of the session, I passed around my example so that the residents knew what we would be doing today. While they looked at the example, I explained the process of creating the flowers and shamrocks for the cards.

3. Trace and cut out a flower or shamrock onto a coffee filter

Residents chose a stencil and traced it onto a coffee filter, yes, a coffee filter! We used markers to trace as the coffee filters are very frail. Sharper utensils like pencils or pens may rip the paper. Using scissors, the residents cut out their flower or shamrock. This takes some time as it can be tricky to cut such frail material.

4. Color coffee filter

Next the residents chose whatever colors they wanted and colored the coffee filter with markers. I made sure that they knew that it didn't need to look pretty by any means, they just needed to cover it with scribbles. For the shamrocks, most residents used varying shades of green, while others got creative and used all different colors. The flower colors ranged from yellows to a rainbow.

5. Water paint the coffee filter

Using a cup of water and a paint brush, the residents then brushed over their coffee filters with water. I made sure they placed the coffee filter on a paper plate to avoid a mess with the water. This spreads the ink from the markers all over the coffee filter and creates a blended effect.

3. Let the coffee filters dry and start creating the cards

Once the residents completed water painting the coffee filters, I placed them on the counter on paper towels so they would dry faster. While they dried, the residents used construction paper to create St. Patrick's Day or spring cards. The residents got creative folding and designing the cards!

3. Glue the coffee filters to the cards

After the coffee filters were not longer wet, I returned them to the residents. Using glue sticks, they attached their creations to their cards.

Key Benefits of this Activity

Cognition: A study by DeokJu Kim (2017), found that older adults who participate in activities such as making cards, clay pendants, or crafting with pressed flowers had improved concentration. For many older adults, cognitive decline is very common as they age, which includes sustained attention (Kim, 2017). Participation in crafting activities can enhance focus and prevent further cognitive decline for the elderly population (Heisinger Bluffs Editorial, 2025).

Physical/Physiological: This activity directly strengthened fine motor skills, which supports the residents' physical health (French, 2025). Like stated earlier, coffee filters are a very thin material which required the residents to steady their hands as they used scissors to cut out their shapes. This not only targets motor skills, but also improves hand-eye coordination (Heisinger Bluffs Editorial, 2025).

Psychological/Emotional: Allowing older adults to participate in an activity that provides time for creative expression can promote a sense of autonomy (French, 2025). Additionally, this activity encouraged residents to make a card for someone else, which can provide opportunities for reflection and fostering gratitude (Grace Management, 2025). Activities that involve crafting also give residents a feeling of pride due to feeling accomplished, which reinforces what they can do, not what they can't (Heisinger Bluffs Editorial, 2025).

Social: It is not uncommon for older adults to withdraw as they age, especially for those with dementia (Kelly, 2025). Encouraging participation in arts, crafts, and similar activities have been known to trigger memories that can help reconnect with peers (Kelly, 2025). Like I stated earlier, once we finished the activity, we all sat together and talked with one another. This was a great chance for the residents to bond and share stories.

Resident comments:

"How does it do that? It looks like a tie-dye shirt!"

"I'm going to give this to my neighbor for St. Patrick's Day."

"What a neat idea."

Conclusion

This activity was not the most exciting, but it created a time together that I believe everyone cherished as we got to dive deeper into getting to know one another. We also have a blast getting creative and talking about our lives. I only have two more activities and I will be sad to leave such enthusiastic and kind people.

References Activity #9.pdf

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