To help get you and your family in the Christmas spirit, we’ve excerpted this potato printing wrapping paper craft from the book “Christmas Crafting with Kids” by Catherine Woram.
Potato printing
You will need:
Medium-sized potato
Star-shaped cookie cutter
Chopping board
Sharp knife (used by adult)
Kitchen paper/dry cloth
Paints
Plain white paper
1. Cut the potato in half, making sure the surface of the potato is as flat as possible. Place the cookie cutter on a cutting board with the sharp edge facing upwards. Press the potato firmly down onto the cutter, leaving the cookie cutter standing proud of the cut surface of the potato, so you can cut round it.
2. Ask an adult to cut away the edges of the potato using a sharp knife. Press the potato down onto a dry cloth or piece of kitchen paper to remove any excess moisture, which can make the paint watery.
3 Pour the paint into a saucer and use the end of the sponge paint roller to apply the paint to the star shape. Don’t apply too much paint to the potato as this will make the design bleed.
4. Begin printing. To ensure the design prints clearly, use a gentle rocking motion, moving the potato from side to side without lifting it from the paper. This will apply the paint evenly even if the cut surface of the potato is not flat. Continue to print the stars at evenly-spaced intervals. Allow the paint to dry completely.
Excerpted with permission from “Christmas Crafting with Kids” by Catherine Woram
