I was making potato salad and got the idea to make a stamp with the last one! Even though it was 80+ degrees, I wanted to get into the Halloween spirit and decided to make some bat cards with it. It was fun, easy to do, and can be applied to a bunch of things: treat bags, kraft paper to make wrapping paper, fabric, and more! Have fun with it and here's to the spooky season! 🎃👻
You’ll Need
- Potato
- Paring Knife
- Kraft Cardstock & Envelope (if making card)
- Black Acrylic Paint
- Sponge Brush
- Paint Palette (It doesn't need to be anything fancy--paper plate, yogurt lid, etc.)
- Gold/Silver Acrylic Paint (optional, if making splatters)
- Paintbrush (if making splatters)
- Paper Cutter or Scissors
- Bone folder (not necessary but makes folding the cardstock easier!)
- Paper towel
Process
- Sketch a bat shape out on paper so you have an idea of how to cut your potato. Straight edges and angles work best, curves are a little trickier!
- Carve the bat shape into your potato. Make sure you cut about 1/2 way into the potato to create the indentation needed for the stamp while leaving some for you to hold onto when stamping. I did the cutting freehand but you can also use a sharpie to draw the shape onto your potato first to make cutting easier.
- Pat the bat dry with a paper towel.
- Brush a thin layer of paint onto the bat with the sponge brush. Make sure not to apply too much paint.
- Make sure your paper is in front of you in landscape orientation.
- Stamp onto your cardstock. (If you have extra paper, try stamping on that first to get a feel for it.) Press firmly but not too hard---too much pressure may cause your potato to slip/move.
- Once you're happy with the pattern, let the paint dry.
- Cut the cardstock in half so you end up with two pieces that are 8 1/2" tall and 5 1/2" wide. This will make two A2 cards.
- Take each piece of cardstock and score in half. Fold.
- Add paint splatters if you’d like.