Sunday, March 16, 2008

Shamrock Stationary


In my 6 years of motherhood, I had not (as of yesterday) attempted the "potato stamp" with my children. Our first shot at this "tried-and-true" craft activity proved successful. My kids had a great time creating their own little shamrock stationary for St. Patrick's Day. Of course, we also had to make some heart stamps as well- we definitely have girls in this house!

To create some stamps of your own:

1. Cut a Potato in half, and trace out your desired pattern with a sharpened pencil. Press the pencil firmly into the potato to make an outline that you will eventually cut out with a knife. Note: you can also use a cookie cutter for this step)

2. Cut the pattern out of your potato, using a paring knife. You will want your stamp to be at least 1/4" deep.

3. Using a paint brush, evenly paint the desired color onto the stamp. We used crayola washable paint for this.

4. Hold (or tape) down the paper as your child stamps, because painted potatoes like to stick to paper:).

Have fun!
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2 comments:

Zabel said...

Love it! I've decided I'm the most non-creative parent out there...and when I am it's a shock. I prefer inconsistency and my husband's non-traditional ways support my laziness. But this is something we have got to try. It's too bad I just used all of my aging potatoes for last night's dinner. I need to stay on top of citrus and then I won't have to make a big batch of mashed potatoes because otherwise they are going to grow legs and crawl away.

Ricki said...

Hi Theresa! Ricki Leishman here, from Provo Peak 1st Ward. I found your blog through Zabel. You're so creative, what a fun mom! We made some carrot stamps, like your potato stamps, for a Primary activity here in Seattle. The kids loved it. Levi is still a little young to get into something like this, but I'm filing ideas away on the post-it notes in my brain.