How do you print a pattern with a potato and a sponge?

What is potato and sponge printing?

A print is the mark a stamp leaves when you cover it with paint and press it onto paper. You make the shape only once, and then you can press it again and again. Every print comes out the same size and shape, so one shape can become a whole pattern. That is why potato and sponge printing is one of the first kinds of printing for kids.

The two stamps look different on the page. A potato is smooth, so it leaves a flat, even patch of color. A sponge is full of tiny holes, so it leaves a soft, dotty texture.

How do you make the stamps?

For the grown-up: the potato needs a sharp knife, so a grown-up does every cut. Cut the potato in half on a cutting board so the face is flat. Your child draws a simple shape on the face with a pencil, or presses a metal cookie cutter into it. Then cut about 1 cm deep around the shape and slice away the potato outside it, so the shape stands up. Pat the face dry with a paper towel.

For you: a sponge stamp is easier. Draw a shape on a dry kitchen sponge with a marker and cut it out with scissors. Ask for help if the sponge is thick. Simple shapes work best: a circle, a square, a triangle, a heart or a leaf.

How do you print an even row and change color?

Use thick paint, such as poster paint. Put a little on a plate and brush a thin layer onto the stamp instead of dipping it in a puddle. Try one print on scrap paper first. Draw a light pencil line across your paper to keep the row straight. Press the stamp straight down, count to three, and lift it straight up without sliding. Leave the same gap each time, about two fingers wide.

To change color between rows, finish the whole row first. Wipe the stamp on a damp cloth until no paint is left, pat it dry, then paint it in the new color. The shape stays the same and only the color changes, so you get a pattern like a red row, a yellow row, a red row.

Why does the print come out backwards?

When you turn the stamp over to press it, its left and right swap. So the print is a mirror image of the stamp's face. If an arrow on the stamp points right when you look at it, the printed arrow points left. A circle, a square or a heart looks the same either way, because both halves match. A letter does not: to print an L the right way round, its foot must point left on the stamp.