St. Patrick's Day Potato Painting

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St. Patrick’s Day is less than a week away. Do you decorate for all the holidays? We’re just starting. We’ve always decorated for Christmas and carved pumpkins for Halloween, but now with little kids, I feel a bit more of an obligation to do so. A happy obligation, but an obligation none-the-less. So this year, we’ve come up with a super simple St. Patrick’s Day Potato Painting. A cute and festive wall hanging.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit Ireland, twice! What I remember most about Ireland the most were the awesome people, the pubs, cobblestone streets and the potatoes. One restaurant (the name of the restaurant eludes me, at the moment) served a dish of four different versions of potatoes, it was amazing! I’m still trying to track down the cheesy potato recipe.

So in true Irish fashion, here’s a simple craft that includes none other than the humble potato. A potato and shamrocks, of course. Maybe you call it a three or a four leaf clover. I would search for four leaf clovers as a kid, but when McDonald’s came out with the famous shamrock shake, I started using the two names interchangeably. Maybe not interchangeably, I don’t ask for a three leaf clover shake, but you get my drift. Do you want to make the festive green shake at home, this year? Here’s an easy recipe for Homemade Shamrock Shakes.

Anyways, back to this super cute project. All you’ll need is a potato, a sharp pairing knife, some paper and a couple different colours of green paint. You’ll also need a pen or pencil to draw your shamrock (or three leaf clover) shape onto the potato and a marker if you choose to add a message. I recommend this marker to get those thin/thick lines. I wrote Happy St. Patrick’s Day, but you could be much more creative and write anything that fits you and your kids.

Here’s a few more Irish sayings

Irish kisses and shamrock wishes
Luck of the Irish
Irish lass full of sass
You’re my lucky charm
A wee bit Irish
Top o’ the morning

Really the options are endless. Check out Pinterest for even more great sayings. See what sayings your kids like best and let them really be a part of this project. My son loved stamping the shamrocks all over the paper. No rules apply, just let them have fun!

How to make your own St. Patrick’s Day Potato Painting

Supplies

potatoes
pencil or pen to trace your shamrock shape
a sharp pairing knife
paper (I used a roll of kid’s easel paper from Ikea)
black marker
two different coloured green acrylic paints
paper plate for the paint (freezer paper or tin foil works in a pinch)

Instructions

Determine where you’ll want to hang your painting so you can roughly measure out how long your paper should be.
Write your preferred message on the paper, I checked out a few font ideas for bullet journaling on Pinterest to get inspiration for my type.
Now, cut your potato in half, I cut mine lengthwise, but I could’ve cut it the opposite way and it would’ve worked just as well. Using a pen or pencil trace (this is a little tricky, I went over mine a few times) the shape of a shamrock. Doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s a kid’s craft after all. I only have one child that’s appropriate stamping age, yet, but you’ll probably want a stamp for each kid if you have more.
This is the only part that really needs a bit of attention. Once your shamrock is traced out, you’ll need to cut it out. Take your pairing knife and slice down into the potato about an 1/8″ following the outline of the shamrock. Once you have cut around the outside of the shamrock. Turn the potato on its side and slowly slice the excess potato away from the shamrock design. I worked in sections. At this point, you’ll start to see the shape of a stamp. The shamrock will start to rise up and the potato will be cut back. Once you have the outline cut out, you can use the knife to get in around the stem and clean up the shape a bit. I ended up cutting off the ends so it would be a smaller handful for my son. See image above for visual.
Here’s where you’ll get your kids involved. Pour a bit of paint on the paper plate. Now, let the kids have fun. Show them how to press it into the paint and then stamp it onto the paper. Watch them light up with excitement seeing what they’ve created.
Let it dry and hang it somewhere fun.

I wasn’t sure how the potato stamping was going to go over. Right now, we’re into painting on canvases with brushes. Watch for that soon! I didn’t know if the stamp was going to be as big a hit with my little guy, as it was in my mind, but it was! I’m learning that my son has a fiercely creative side and when given any sort of art supplies, he shines. Is your child the same? I’m already excited for the next potato stamped craft we’ll dive into. It’s such a simple project and you likely already have all the supplies at home. A project I don’t have to shop for, and can throw together in a matter of minutes, is right up my alley.

If you really want to go the extra mile, you could always find a small, straight-ish tree branch or piece of dowelling. Make sure it’s wider than the width of your paper by about 2 or 3″ on either end. First, glue or tape the top part of the paper to the branch so it holds and then wrap the paper around the branch a couple times, you may have to secure it again here, it’ll end up looking like a scroll. Then, tie a piece of string, about twice the width of your painting, onto both ends of the branch. You’ll be able to hang it, now, as is. We were pressed for time when we did this and I haven’t gotten back to it, but that’s a great way to finish it off, if you’d like to.

This project is a great way to add a little last-minute Irish flair to your home, and get your littles ones excited for the upcoming festivities. Do you have big plans for the St. Patrick’s Day? I’d love to hear what you’re planning in the comments below.

If you decide to make this with your family and want to share. Please feel free to tag @candyjarchronicles or #candyjarchronicles on Instagram.

Did you love this kid-friendly craft? Check out these other projects, I’m sure you’ll enjoy:

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