Stamping for kids: potato stamps, rollers and stencils

Art technique

Make one mark, then make a hundred

Stamping is printing: put paint on a raised shape, press it on paper, and the shape appears. Do it again for a pattern. Potato halves, corks and rolling pins all print, and each print comes out paler as the paint runs out.

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Ages 3+
30 minutes
An adult does the cutting

Painted illustration of the painter pressing a potato star stamp, with rows of colourful star prints, roller stripes, a stencil and paint trays.

Quick facts

Age

3+ for printing (an adult cuts)

Time

30 minutes

Mess

Medium

Adult needed

Yes, for the knife

You need (cost)

Potatoes, a knife or cookie cutters, poster paint, paper

On screen / for real

Both

What you'll make

Rows of stars, hearts or fish in two or three colours, repeating patterns from a rolling pin wrapped in string, and letters printed through a home-made stencil. Brown paper turns into wrapping paper.

In Extreme Drawing

Three ways to print in Extreme Drawing:

Stencils (button above the drawing kit, free): letters A–Z, numbers 0–9 and 12 shapes. Lay one, paint or draw over it, lift it off: colour only where the holes were. Letters get little bridges, so the middle of an O doesn’t fall out. In My stencils you can cut your own from card with scissors on screen.
Stamps (Craft, in the full toolbox): star, heart, paw, flower, smiley and fish, with black, red, blue, green and purple ink pads and a damp cloth. Each print shows the paper’s grain and comes out fainter than the last. Press a stamp into wet paint or ketchup and it prints that on the next go. Every press leaves a faint dent, which a crayon rubbing brings out.
Rollers (Craft, in the full toolbox): dots, zigzags, stars, hearts and paw prints. They ink themselves, run pale after a long stretch and recover when you put them down. Rolled through wet paint, a roller prints that paint again every turn. The Rolling pin (Kitchen, free) does the same through wet paint.

Play in your browser

Painted illustration of the painter sprinkling glitter on a glue star, beside salt on a glue line soaking up blue paint, stickers, ink droppers, a stencil and tape.

For real

Do it for real

You need

Big, firm potatoes
A sharp knife (for the adult), or small cookie cutters
Kitchen paper
Poster paint on a plate, or a damp kitchen sponge with paint on it as an ink pad
Paper, card or brown paper
Extras: corks, bottle caps, a rolling pin with string or rubber bands wrapped round it

A potato stamp, step by step

Cut the potato
An adult cuts a potato in half with one straight cut, so the face is flat.
Make the shape
Press a cookie cutter into the cut face, then the adult cuts away the potato around it, about 1 cm deep. Or draw a shape with a pen and the adult carves it.
Dry the face
Pat it with kitchen paper. A wet potato makes blotchy prints.
Ink it
Dab the stamp on the paint sponge, or brush paint onto it: thin and even.
Press and lift
Press firmly without twisting, then lift straight up. Print two or three times before re-inking and watch it fade.
Make a pattern
Rows, turns, two colours. Let it dry flat.

Variations to try

Christmas wrapping paper

Star and tree stamps in red, green and gold on brown paper.

Rolling-pin patterns

Wrap string or rubber bands round a rolling pin or a toilet-roll tube, roll it through paint, then across the paper.

Leaf prints

Paint the bumpy back of a real leaf and press it onto paper for an autumn print.

Stencilled names

Cut letters out of card, then dab paint through the holes with a sponge.

In the app vs on paper

On screen

Nothing to carve: six stamps, five rollers and a box of stencils, and you can cut your own stencil with scissors on screen. Prints fade the way real ones do. The stencils and the rolling pin are free; the stamps and rollers are in the full toolbox.

On real paper

A potato stamp can be any shape you can draw, and it is all yours. Real prints vary with how much paint and how hard you press, which is half the fun.

Why only the shape prints

A stamp only touches the paper with its raised part, so only that part prints. Each press leaves some paint behind on the paper, so the next print has less paint and comes out paler.

For grown-ups. This is relief printing: the raised surface carries the ink and transfers it under pressure, while cut-away areas never touch the paper. Only part of the paint transfers at each contact, so prints fade until the stamp is re-inked. A cut potato’s face is wet with starchy juice, which is why drying it matters. A roller repeats its pattern once per turn, so its repeat length is its circumference (π × diameter).

Try next: what do you predict?

How many prints?

How many prints can one stamp make before it runs out of paint?

Wet or dry potato?

Which prints a sharper shape?

Thin or thick roller?

Which one repeats its pattern sooner?

Two colours at once?

What happens if you ink one stamp in two colours?

For teachers

In the classroom

Stamping fits KS1 and KS2 art and design (using a range of materials and techniques) and early maths work on repeating patterns; rollers add circumference for older pupils. Stencils in the app need no materials at all for a quick whiteboard demo.

Ideas for teachers Using it on the whiteboard

Questions parents ask

How do you make a potato stamp?

Cut a potato in half, press a cookie cutter into the cut face and have an adult cut away the potato around it. Pat it dry, dab it in paint and press.

What paint is best for potato stamping?

Poster paint or ready-mixed paint, spread thinly on a plate or a sponge. Watery paint slides and blurs.

Why are my potato prints blotchy?

The potato is wet or there is too much paint. Pat the face dry, dab off the extra paint and press straight down without wiggling.

What else can kids stamp with?

Corks, bottle caps, building bricks, sponges cut into shapes, halved apples, leaves and their own fingers.

Are there stencils in Extreme Drawing?

Yes: letters, numbers and 12 shapes are free, and you can cut your own stencil from card on screen.

Lay a stencil on screen

Stencil your name, cut your own stencil shape, and roll the rolling pin through wet paint. Then get the potatoes out.

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