Click here to subscribe

By Spramani Elaun

MAKE POTATO STAMP CARDS

I love Valentine’s and making homemade cards for family and special people in my life.

It’s tradition to make potato Valentine cards with my young art students around this time of year.

Potatoes Make Great Stamps

Potatoes make a great inexpensive instant stamps.

Potato stamps are easy for little hands grasp and hold.

You can carve almost any shape you want out of a potato.

Supplies you will need:

Potatoes – russet large ones work best, organic potatoes are even better because they have no pesticides sprayed on them.

Knife – medium size pairing knife, think about safety while working around small kids, maybe cut potatoes before kids arrive to the work station.

Newsprint – Newsprint to lay down and keep work area tidy.

Paint Brushes – Paint brushes, craft sponges, or popsicle sticks can work for spreading paint on stampers.

Paints Tempera, acrylic, watercolor and natural veggie dye will work.

Color– For valentines I usually put out warm colors like, red, pink, purple, white and teal blue looks nice.

Paper or Card Stock – card stock, news print, construction paper, copy paper or any type of stationary cards.

Napkins – napkins or rags

Water Jar – for cleaning paint bushes in between color changes.

Potato Stamping is a Messy Project!

4 step how-to Potato Stamp

1. Cut or carve out heart shape.

2. Pat potato dry with napkin or rag before stamping. Potatoes are a root vegetable that holds and releases lots of water when you cut open. When potatoes are pat dry they work much better at stamping and absorbing paint.

3. Cover flat impression side of the potato with paint, the stamping side.

4. Press potato stamp on paper and lift to see impression left on paper.

Practice a couple of times until the paint is thin and you can see your desired shape.  It takes some practice then potatoes start absorbing paint and they leave a better impressions. I always tell kids to practice on a side paper before making impression on nice paper or cards.

Happy Valentine’s!

Love, Spramani

All rights reserved ©, Nature of Art For Kids®

No part of this blog may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical  articles and reviews.