Art Projects
HalloweenPreschoolersKindergartners16 Comments
Make your own Halloween pumpkins with a simple potato stamping jack-o-lanterns activity for kids!
Is there anything you can’t do with a potato? I mean you can bake it, fry it, and mash it – that in itself is pretty impressive.
But oh, the crafting possibilities with potato stamping! You can carve a potato into just about anything you can imagine.
Like a jack-o-lantern!
Cute Potato Stamping Jack-O-Lanterns for Fall
That’s right, we are already all about the Halloween crafts for kids over here!
I have learned to simply embrace the excitement of my little ones when it comes to the holidays. So we start crafting and decorating early.
And there is certainly no shortage of Halloween ideas for kids!
Truth be told, I love it too.
My daughter actually got this craft ready all on her own. She is 13 and (sometimes) likes to plan fun crafts and activities for her little brothers.
I’m hoping this lasts throughout her teenage years. Though I haven’t heard that sweet pumpkin crafting is one of the things I can look forward to in the years ahead.
But either way, right now, my sweet teenager still likes to craft with her brothers. And I honestly love it when she takes the lead!
Are these one of the 35 pumpkin crafts for kids? Find out!
DIY Stamps for Halloween Pumpkins
This pumpkin stamping jack-o-lantern craft uses supplies you probably already have at home!
To make your own Halloween potato stamps, you’ll need:
- Potatoes, cut in half
- Paring or another small knife
- Orange paint
- Paper
First, she cut potatoes in half, across the middle to make the stamping end round. You could also cut the long way and make ovals instead.
Next, she used a butter knife to carve out jack-o-lantern faces.
Potatoes are very easy to carve. Especially if they are a touch on the too ripe side.
Use Potato Stamping Jack-O-Lanterns to Explore Emotions
This craft ties in nicely to some playing we have been doing lately with emotions. We have been working on what different emotions look like and how to appropriately express them.
Helping kids get a handle on their emotions is hard, but so essential for growth as a person.
So we carved lots of different emotions into our potato pumpkins.
We did all sorts of emotions on our potato stamping jack-o-lanterns: angry, surprised, happy, and sad.
Adding Elements of Learning to Your Halloween Craft
I offered a lot of different paint colors, hoping we would play a bit with color mixing or patterning, but for the most part they were painted orange.
Instead of colored patterns, you could try patterning with emotion faces. Happy happy sad happy happy sad – or whatever kinds of faces your child wants.
As you carve or stamp, you could talk about different shapes, too. Triangles for eyes; squares, rectangles, and ovals for mouths.
You could also make scenes, too. Add trees or make different types of shapes for Halloween – black cats, ghosts, or witch hats.
Try making your own autumn landscape using three different painting techniques!
My little ones loved potato stamping pumpkins! And so did my daughter in fact. And maybe Mama, too.
Just paint the potato, or dip it in paint and stamp it on paper to make all kinds of jack-o-lantern faces! It’s a simple craft to do over and over again!
These little pumpkins would be great for stamping onto Halloween cards or letters for friends or family. Or they would be great for decorating a trick or treat bag or a tablecloth for a Halloween party!
So many options with this simple Halloween craft. Good old versatile potatoes!
What kinds of stamps have you made out of potatoes? Share your ideas and photos with us!
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Karen @ Raising Little Superheroes says
What a fun Halloween craft for kids to create! We love potato stamping but have never made pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns. What a clever idea! Thank you for sharing at the #Made4Kids Link Party!
My Bored Toddler says
What a fun Halloween activity! Thanks for sharing on #ToddlerFunFriday
Helen Neale says
Wonderful and easy activity, beautiful pictures. Thanks so much for sharing with the parenting pin it party. Cheers, Helen
Katie says
What a great idea! I’ll have to give it a try!
At home with ruth says
These looks fabulous. I’d cut them out and make bunting for Hallowen! Might have a go with my son. Thanks for the idea!
Kiim says
My youngest two have been requesting a projects like crazy lately. This would be a fun and easy to put together for them.
Chloe says
What a creative autumn activity. This looks like great fun. We have so many potatoes lying around at the moment, we’ll definitely be trying this out. Thank you so, so much for linking this to #whatevertheweather. xx
Jenny Eaves says
That’s so sweet that your daughter wants to help her brothers. Such a cute craft as well, great idea to combine emotions with the pumpkins.
Thanks for linking up to #Whatevertheweather :) x
Julie says
My kids used to love making potato stamps when they were little, I love how you say your older one still enjoyed it (and you too!) It’s so nice for the kids to be able to make their own design and because potatoes are not expensive they can try out all different ideas. Lovely little trip down memory lane for me – thanks.