How to Make Your Own Wrapping Paper From Potato Prints

It's not just for kids anymore! Potato prints are a fun, easy, and inexpensive way to get your creative juices flowing. Wrapping paper, book covers, and greeting cards are just a few of the projects you can do with a potato and poster paint.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a raw potato
• marker
• poster paint
• sharp knife
• paper
• thin paint brush

1. 
    

   Cut a medium to large potato in half. With a thin-tipped marker, draw a sun, face, house or anything your heart desires on the fleshy side of the potato. Alternately, you could draw the design on paper, cut it out and trace it on the potato.

2. 
    

   Using a sharp knife, cut away the potato on the OUTSIDE of the design so that the design stands out in relief.

3. 
    

   Brush the raised design with paint, making sure not to overdo it. You don't want paint oozing out from the sides of the design.

4. 
    
   Beautiful!

   Firmly press the potato down on the paper. Apply more paint after two or three stamps or as needed. Repeat until you get your desired effect.

Tips & Warnings

• When the paint is dry, use a pen or marker to draw amusing features on your potato print.
• When using a sharp knife, hold the potato firmly from the bottom and cut AWAY from you.

[ccsteffen]

on 8/20/2009 Wow--well isn't this the most interesting thing?! I had never heard of it. Thanks for this fun article on How to Make Your Own Wrapping Paper From Potato Prints! 5*

[igislandgirl]

on 8/17/2009 Wonderful directions and nice pictures. I use to to this with the kids at Christmas time. brings back memories.

[lighthouse1958]

on 8/17/2009 I have never heard of this before. Good ideal. 5*

[zuma717]

on 8/17/2009 I like the idea of adding funny doodles to the design. I think I'll make a potato print wrapping paper with all the faces of my family.

[chicitamiller]

on 8/17/2009 My kids will love doing this with me! Thank you!