If you have the time, making your own Christmas cards can be a joy – and people always appreciate the effort that’s gone in to them. Printing is a great, inexpensive way to create multiple cards using the same stamp. There are all sorts of printing techniques out there – but for a beginner (and little ones) we can’t recommend potato printing enough. Root vegetables are very easy to cut with simply tools – and can produce some really lovely effects.
You will need:
Root vegetables – sweedes, potatoes and carrots work well
A good chopping knife
A fine, sharp, scapel
Chopping board
Cards and envelopes
Paints – water based acrylics or poster paint works well
Plate to mix paint
Optional extras:
Pens and pencils to add decoration
Glitter, sparkles and sequins
PVA glue
You can either go free hand with your cutting – or draw out a simple template before hand. Once you have your design in mind, chop your chosen vegetable in half.
Cut out your template and draw around it onto your potato (or in this case, swede) or you can draw your design directly onto the vegetable without a template.
Then with your scalpel – carefully cut out the design (this part is strictly an adults-only exercise).
Once you’ve cut around the design, you can then begin to cut out the unwanted bits of potato. At a 90degree angle – cut out in small chunks until you’re left with your finished stamp.
You can cut out a number of different stamps. Christmas trees work well.
Try a holly leaf or a simply star.
Once you have all your stamps prepared you can begin to print!
The easiest way is to paint the stamp directly – to ensure an even coverage. But otherwise you can just dip the stamp into paint spread out onto a plate.
Then just carefully press the stamp onto the paper – try to hold down firmly, but try not to let the stamp move either. Then the card is ready for any extra decoration you’d like – or you can keep them nice and simple!
You can also paint on multiple colours onto your stamp – such as for this robin.
And then add detail with coloured pens and pencils.
Or use the same stamp multiple times on one card.
And then create different stamps – such as this round stamp from a carrot – which makes a perfect holly berry!
Then just leave your cards to dry for an hour – and they should be ready for writing and sending to their lucky recipients.
