This is another one of those
Childcraft Book throwbacks…potato stamps! I remember it from the Make and Do volume, OF COURSE my favorite one of the bunch. Unfortunately, my set I purchased at the church sale last month is missing this one and Places to Know…thank goodness for the Internet, as I will own them one day by way of online auction.
I was trying to think of easy and cheap artsy projects the other day, and I remembered seeing this in my book. I can’t say I remembered actually making potato stamps, but I’m sure between my years as a Brownie/Girl Scout and summers at home with nothing to do, I must have made these.
Last night, I grabbed some taters for some stamps. These were medium sized Russet potatoes, wide enough across the middle for a decent sized stamp. I’m sure some long, big ones would make some super stamps too.
Scrub them clean, unless you want dirty stamps. Slice them across the middle or longways, which ever suits your design.
Can you see the outline of the heart?
I tried to trace a shape onto the cut end of the potato using a ballpoint pen and then a Sharpie marker, but neither one really worked. So I used the tip of the knife to carve out a heart shape on the potato. (Thanks to the husband for taking the action shots!)
No thumbs were harmed in the making of this tutorial.
I made cuts at the top of the heart for the V shape indention, about 1/4 inch deep. I inserted the knife straight into the potato and attempted to trace the rounded heart top. Didn’t work so well.
Shaving away
I found it easier, for curves, to just shave away the sides at an angle to expose the shape on the top. Then I just chipped away at the heart to accentuate the bumps. Needless to say, the heart was the hardest one to carve.
Getting better at this....
The star was easier to do…I had lost my photographer to bath duty, so no more action shots. I traced a star onto the potato, then made 1/4 inch deep slices from the inner corners of the star out to the points. Then I inserted the knife in the side of the potato and whittled out the sections one at a time. I used the knife to gently sharpen up edges if needed and clean out bits and pieces from the potato surface. And if you mess up, no worries….just slice off a thick layer and start over!
Ready for paint!
Using the same technique, also I made a moon (using the rounded edge of the potato for the outer curve of the moon) and a Christmas tree. I didn’t want them to brown, so I popped them in some water and put them in the fridge overnight.
I planned on letting the kiddo stamp today as I was making dinner, so I gathered up some foam brushes, kid’s paint and lunch paper bags and set them in a bowl so they’d be ready to go when we got home. I thought the bags would make great gift wrapping or treat bags for Halloween.
The tongue extension increases the concentration
After work I got the taters out of the fridge, dried them off, poured paint on a plate, and let the kiddo go for it. I always spread out a big blanket on the floor when we do crafts, so I can throw it in the wash afterward.
Stamping away
I lurrve all the globby bits of paint around the edges.
Sweet little dude
My beloved paint plate....layers of paint from projects over the past 10 years.
The little heart looks like it has wings!
The finished set
I love how these turned out! He added some stickers and more stamps in the end, and they are just perfect in their kid-created goofy randomness. An A+ craft for kids in my book!
