Make Your Own Potato Stamp Heart Art
We love making Heart Art around here, not just for Valentine’s Day but for any occasion where we want to show someone a little extra love and support. Let’s be honest, folks: it’s been a rough couple of years! Art is great for mental health, and I think we could all use a little reminder that we are loved and not alone these days.
So let’s get started with this ridiculously easy and fun way to make Potato Stamps! I will also answer some frequently asked questions and cover one of my very favorite arts & crafts tips as well!
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Material List for Potato Stamps
I love this project because it is easy to setup and requires very little in terms of materials. Matter of fact, you probably have all these craft supplies at home already.
- metal cookie cutter in the stamp shape you want
- a potato sized slightly larger than your cookie cutter
- sharp knife
- stamp pad (optional, make your own)
- paint (acrylic or tempera)
- paper, cardstock, etc
NOTES: I prefer the sturdiness of a metal cookie cutter for this project, but you could try using a plastic cutter and see how it goes. Don’t have a cookie cutter? Stamps can certainly be freestyled if you are extra artistic or don’t have a cookie cutter on hand. If you are allergic to potatoes or already have delicious plans for your spud stock, try tracing your cookie cutter onto a kitchen sponge and cutting out your shape that way!
NO STAMP PAD? No worries! You can make your own DIY Felt Stamp Pad with minimal supplies and just a few minutes time.
Create your Potato Stamp
I prefer to scrub, wash, and towel dry my potatoes before I use them for stamps. It’s totally personal preference so do as you like; I just don’t like how dirty and grainy an unwashed potato feels when I’m working with it. That sensation can be particularly difficult for kiddos who are sensory sensitive, so keep that in mind. For those working with kiddos, please note: a responsible adult will be needed for the potato trimming part in the steps below.
- Grab your perfect potato and cut in half.
- Eyeball your cookie cutter to the center of your cut potato.
- Press the cookie cutter into the potato until it’s about flush with surface.
- Using a sharp knife, make a cut about 1/4″ down the potato, on the outer edge.
- Trim around the outer edge of the potato, cutting deep enough that the knife reaches the cookie cutter.
- Pull off the excess potato.
- Slide the cookie cutter off of the potato.
- Towel dry the open end of your potato stamp.
PRO TIP: If you don’t want to worry about roly poly potato stamps, cut the round end of the potato off as well. Tada! The potato stamp will now sit flat on your surface.
Stamping With Stamp Pads
For the best results in terms of crisp lines and clear stamping, I prefer to do my stamping with a stamp pad. Don’t worry if you don’t have a stamp pad though, you’ve still got options, like our DIY Felt Stamp Pad. I came up with this reusable, homemade stamp pad specifically for use with my potato stamps; I wanted something quick and easy so I could get stamping right away. All you need is a little scrap felt to get started.
Stamping Directly in Paint
If you don’t have a stamp pad and you don’t want to try our DIY Felt Stamp Pad, you can always dip your stamps directly in paint. I recommend using a smaller amount of paint and then spreading it around with a brush or paper towel so that the paint layer is a thinner for optimal stamping. You can also thin the paint out a bit with water if you find it to be too thick for the look you want–just start small and do not thin it too much. Practice using different amounts of paint and stamping techniques to get the look you want.
I like to put my paint on paper plates so that I can dip my stamp in the paint, stamp it a few times on the palette plate, and then stamp it on my artwork for the perfect stamp effect. I use the stamped paint on my palette to mix different shades to give my palette a little more dimension.
I love creating Heart Art with a simple color palette. As you can see here, we used red, white, and pink, which helped to keep our stamp art simple, but it also coordinated with a large number of papers and background colors.
Paper Selection
We usually gather up a combination of construction paper, copy paper, and cardstock when we are painting. IKEA has a great pack of craft paper called MÅLA that has a large variety of paper colors and sizes that I absolutely love. It is very affordable and my favorite paper to keep on hand for our painting projects. Grab a pack next time you are there, it’s useful for so many projects.
Bonus Tip: Turn Your Art Into Cards
Every time we paint, I bring out a few blank, folded cards for us to decorate with whatever art process we are using that day. It’s a fun way to build a stash of beautifully decorated, handmade cards that you can reach for any time you need one.
My favorite blank, pre-folded cards are Hamilco White Cardstock Thick Paper, 5 x 7. These cards are 80LB card stock, so they really make for a lovely painting surface. I also purchased a pack of A7 envelopes in rainbow colors so that we could always match our envelopes to our artistic cards. I really love having handmade cards lying around for any occasion.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why did the potato cross the road?
Because he saw a fork up ahead. - What do you call a potato with glasses?
A spec-tator. - What is the potato’s least favorite day?
Fry-day. - What do you call baby potatoes?
Tater tots.
See you later, stamp potater.
You can always count on me to chip in a good potato pun. I hope you had a blast making your Potato Stamp Heart Art. If you want to continue to the potato stamping for another day, just wipe your stamp down with a paper towel and let it sit on the counter. It won’t last much longer than a few days, I’m afraid, but you’ll have lots of great pieces to show for all your effort. If you do decide to try out Potato Stamping, definitely let me know how it goes!
Looking for other Heart Themed Crafts?
Potato Stamping is fun, but it’s really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to heart themed craft potential. I’ve been making a list of the Valentine’s Day crafts that I think would be fun to do this year, and I pulled together my favorite tutorials for you in my post 9 Valentine’s Day Crafts & Decor! I hope they help fill your February with creativity, love, and kindness.
And don’t forget to check out our Love Themed Sensory Bin for another heart inspired creative activity!
Links included above are affiliate links and may support DFW Craft Shows at no additional cost to you. DFWCS participates in the Amazon affiliate program, but DFWCS is in no way associated with Amazon or the items above. The opinions stated within are my own, and I have not received any sponsorship or free products from the aforementioned manufacturers.
Originally posted on January 11, 2022.
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Hi, I'm Tania!
Thanks for stopping by DFW Craft Shows! Our blog is home to tons of creative inspiration, gift guides, tutorials, featured artists, and tips for small businesses trying to make their mark in the arts & crafts world.
such a cute craft idea
Love this idea! It would make a precious Valentine’s Day card.