Showing posts with label No xtra stuff required. Show all posts
Showing posts with label No xtra stuff required. Show all posts

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Potato-Stamped Cards


With a few good-size potatoes and assorted miniature cookie cutters, you and your kids can make personalized cards for any occasion.

With a few good-size potatoes and assorted miniature cookie cutters, you and your kids can make personalized wrapping paper, cards, T-shirts, place mats, and napkins. Choose large potatoes that, when halved widthwise, have a surface wide enough to accommodate a cookie cutter. Place the cookie cutter on a table, cutting side up. Center the potato over the cutter and tap, pressing the cutter at least 1/2 inch into the potato. Using a sharp kitchen knife, cut the excess potato flesh away from the cookie cutter, making slices perpendicular to the cutter; this is a job only for adults. Once the excess potato is removed, pull out the cookie cutter.

To form the center of a flower or another design, hollow out with a melon baller. Potatoes bleed, so wipe each surface dry with a towel before inking and stamping. Make sure to use the proper ink; if you're working on paper, both pigment- and dye-based inks will work, while fabric requires dye-based ink. For paper designs, place a piece of felt beneath the piece of paper to cushion the surface; this will result in a crisp, even print.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/potato-stamping?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/birthday-and-everyday-cards#slide_18

Pencil Stamps


Instead of using your pencil eraser to make marks disappear, turn it into a stamp and make playful pictures appear on cards and wrapping paper.


Just press the eraser into an ink pad, and stamp polka dots onto paper. Or cut the eraser with a utility knife to create different looks: Half an eraser makes a half-moon, and a third creates a delicate crescent. We stamped colored kraft paper and blank card stock, and added stems to flowers with a green pencil.



http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.0e0eb51a2e6b5ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=e9b2d0f19132f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&backto=true