Things to Do with Potatoes
Potato crafts for kids are perfect for a dreary winter day or rainy afternoon. Here are a few ideas to jumpstart your creative juices.
Potato Stamps
One of the greatest potato craft ideas is surprisingly easy: using cut potatoes to stamp paint onto fabric or paper. Make the potato stamp by cutting the tater in half. Then select a metal cookie cutter and press it into the potato flesh. When the cutter is deep in a potato half, take out all of the potato around the outside of the cutter so you can press out the shape. Dry it on a paper towel. Now comes the fun-for-kids part. Have your kids dip or blot the potato shape into paint, then press the design onto a T-shirt, plain fabric, or piece of paper. These are great to make cards, wrapping paper, or even gifts for the grandparents.
Mr. Potato Head
This is good for older children or done with the supervision of a parent. Let each child pick a potato, ideally one that looks sort of like a human head. Tell the kids to use their imagination to decorate the potato like a head. For extra fun, provide googly eyes and thumb tacks in different colors. You might also supply individual sized yogurt containers for hats, sparkles, beads or the like for eyes, and bits of felt for grins. Yarn can make cool hair. For a lengthier project, suggest a Mr. and Ms. Potato Head.
Potato Art Sculptures
Your kids can create potato art by creating potato sculptures. Use a wooden skewer to unite three potatoes of progressively smaller sizes, and then use paint to give the sculpture personality. Bits of wood can be arms while sequins or raisins are great eyes. Alternatively, mash potatoes and then add enough flour to create a substance that feels like clay. Let the kids model the clay into different types of potato art sculptures.
