Type: Wrapping
Difficulty: Easy
Kid-friendly? Yes (adult supervision required for potato stamp cutting)
The presentation of a gift can be as thoughtful and special as its contents, and made with just as much love. Even better, it provides a way of using up leftover fabric cuts while stealing hearts of all ages.
You’ll need:
- Plain, light-coloured fabric , such as calico
- Acrylic or fabric paint (even leftover house paint will do)
- Potato and paring knife
Making:
- Cut potato in half. Use paring knife to carve a simple design, such as a star, into the cut surface. You can create two different designs – one on each half. Keep in mind that this is a stamp, so the raised part of the design will be what gets printed. If cutting a star (for example), the area around the star will be what you cut from the potato, leaving the area of the star itself intact.
- Place fabric on a flat surface and smooth out, placing a heavy object (like a brick) on each corner to keep it in place.
- Place paint on a surface (an old newspaper or plastic container will do).
- Dip your potato stamp into the paint to coat the outer surface of the raised part of the design. Gently stamp onto the fabric to transfer the design. Repeat as you like until the whole sheet of fabric is decorated.
- Leave to dry. This may take up to 24 hours, depending on paint type.
- Use you as would ordinary wrapping paper – simply cut a square to size, going a little larger than you would with paper. To secure, instead of using sticky tape, tie diagonally opposite corners together. To finish, attach a gift tag where these are knotted, and gift with this side facing up.