(Materials [makes 6 stamps]: 3 potatoes, tempera paint, paper)
IMPORTANT: Adults, not children, carve the potatoes.
1. Clean and cut each potato in half.
2. Carve out a different design in each, about 1/4 inch deep, in the flesh of the potatoes. The design should be more of an outline with maybe a small detail inside. Geometric shapes (triangle, square, etc.) work great.
3. Cut along the circumference of the potato, about 1/4 inch from the flesh edge. Carefully peel off the quarter-inch thick layer around the design and discard it so what’s left is a protruding piece of your carving.
3. Dip the protruding carving into paint (use 6 different colors, one for each potato stamp) and press it down on a blank piece of paper. You’ll see your carving shape as a stamp on the paper.
Make patterns using these potato stamps. Two can play where one person starts a pattern (circle, circle, pentagon, circle, circle, pentagon) and the other person continues it.
You can also use these stamps to make fun greeting cards, posters and decorations.