Sturdy reusable canvas bags are perfect for trick-or-treating, especially when you decorate them yourself using homemade potato stamps and craft paint.
Trick-or-treating is an important part of any kid’s life. I might not remember that one time I got straight A’s on my report card, but I certainly remember every single Halloween costume I wore and which houses handed out random things like quarters and apples.
And since Halloween memories are so important, why not make them even more special by making a customized trick-or-treat bag for your little one? I grabbed a pack of three plain canvas bags off of Amazon and decorated them using another childhood memory of mine: potato stamps.
Back in the day, we carved stars and other simple shapes into a potato to make a stamper that you then dip into paint and stamp onto tee shirts and cardboard signs. This year I’m bringing the potato stamp back, but making it even cooler by pushing cookie cutters into the flesh of the potatoes, then cutting around them, to create a raised shape you can use to stamp.
Then benefit of using the cookie cutters is that you don’t have to be an artist to create some of the more complicated shapes like a black cat or jack-o-lantern. Heck, you could even use this concept to make a canvas bag with any cookie cutter you have. My West Virginia shaped cookie cutter is calling my name on this one.
PREPARE THE CANVAS BAGS
To begin, first prepare your bags. I ordered these canvas bags in a pack of three from Amazon. If they are wrinkly, steam or iron them to create a smooth surface. I even washed mine first because they smelled like storage. Just make sure to hang dry.
MAKE THE POTATO STAMP
To make the potato stamp, look for the biggest jumbo restaurant-style potatoes you can find.
Cut the potato in half, length-wise. Next, push a strong cookie cutter, preferably metal, into the exposed white flesh of the potato being as even as you can. I got this set of three cookie cutters from Amazon.
Once the cookie cutter is in there, take a paring knife and cut away the excess potato flesh on the outside of the cutter. Then, remove the cutter to reveal a raised shape on the potato.
STAMP YOUR TRICK-OR-TREAT BAG
When your bags and potato stamps are ready, simply stamp the potato into a paper plate filled with acrylic craft paint and swirl it around until the entire raised shape is coated. I like to practice on a sheet of printer paper first to see if the paint is looking even. If there is a spot that isn’t showing up when stamped, it might be recessed more than the other parts of the shape. If so, you can try to even things out by carefully shaving off a thin layer of potato from the shape, to even things out.
The shape will probably not be perfect, and even look a little bit organic or impressionist. That’s what I love about the potato stamps! If you want it to look more saturated and filled in, use a paint brush to paint the craft paint onto the stamp instead of dipping it in paint.
I did this paint-on technique with my candy corn bag, because I wanted fairly consistent stripes of color on the candy corn.
After you have tested the stamp, start stamping on your bag. I like to carefully and steadily place the paint-laden potato stamp down on the bag, then press firmly down without moving the stamp. When I feel like I’ve made a good impression, I pull directly up to lift the stamp up.
Done! Whew. You can breathe again.
Now, just do that several more times until you are happy with the design and you’re all set. You can even paint on your kid’s name using a stencil or a steady hand. Let the bags dry completely, lying flat and then they are ready for their big night.
Print
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Sturdy reusable canvas bags are perfect for trick-or-treating, especially when you decorate them yourself using homemade potato stamps and craft paint.
Ingredients
- canvas bag
- jumbo potato
- metal cookie cutter
- paring knife
- paper plate
- acrylic craft paint
- paint brush (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare your canvas bag. If it needs washing, wash on gentle cycle and hang to dry. Steam or iron to create a smooth surface.
- Cut a large potato in half, length-wise as evenly as possibly. Press your cookie cutter into the white flesh of the potato and press down firmly until the cutter is fairly deep into the potato, leaving a bit of excess to pull it out.
- Using a paring knife, cut the excess outer potato flesh off, while the cutter is still in place. You can cut it off completely or just trim away about a 1/4” of the flesh to create a raised surface on the potato.
- Once the excess is removed, carefully wiggle the cookie cutter off of the potato and you will be left with a potato stamp.
- Put a little bit of craft paint on a paper plate and dip the potato stamp in, swirling to get the surface completely covered. Next, test the stamp on a piece of scrap paper to see how it looks.
- If part of your shape isn’t showing up, the surface of your stamp is uneven. To fix, carefully shave off a thin layer or two of the surface of the potato stamp until it is even.
- Lay your bag flat and dip your stamp in paint again. Carefully place your potato stamp down on the bag and press down firmly, without moving the stamp. Lift straight up to reveal your shape.
- Repeat this process, dipping in more paint each time, until you are happy with your design. Allow to dry completely before using.
Notes
To patch up any spots that didn’t get paint within the shape, cut a small circle out of another potato and use it as a stamper to dab paint carefully onto the spot.
Like this idea for DIY Potato Stamp Trick-or-Treat Bags? Pin the image below to your Halloween Pinterest board for later!
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