Potato Stamps and other Fall Crafts

Fall is my favorite time of the year. I think about cozy soups, football, crazy Halloween parties, Martha Stewart crafts, crunchy leaves and cool-weather camping. Ahhhh.

And with the changing of the seasons, so comes the changing table settings and other updates to your interior decor. I wanted to create a dining table centerpiece that would delight the senses by focusing on smells, textures, treats and warm fall color.

I picked up a beautiful bunch of flowers at the Westown Farmer’s Market in Zeidler Square that included bold sunflowers and a few greenish-purple cabbage plants. I also purchased a small pumpkin and a large butternut squash for soup to make later in the week.

I decided to include all these elements in my table setting to give the feeling of life and harvest to the autumn season. I used burlap as the base for the table setting to add unique texture. I then placed the flower vase in the center with a tie of raffia, added the pumpkin and squash, filled a couple small jars with candies and then set out a few pieces of citrus.

I stuck cloves all over the oranges to create the most delightful scent known to man. My mother would always have us pierce the whole cloves through the skins of citrus in various shapes and designs around the holidays. You just can’t beat the smell of the orange juices and broken cloves as they coat your fingertips.  Whenever I do this project on my own now, it takes me right back home and I fully embrace the nostalgia by throwing on Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel, CSNY or Cat Stevens (a few of the old school family favorites).

After getting into the fall mood with my new table setting, I decided to create potato stamps and decorate a few treat bags. This was such a joyous process because you can really do anything you want from simple letters and pretty leaves to frightening skulls and funky pumpkins.

To make the stamps, cut your russet potatoes in half and begin to map out your design. You can use a paring knife or craft knife to cut your shape. You want to make your main image elevated, so slice about a 1/8″-1/4″ below your shape and cut out the excess. Use your craft knife to reshape the main image if necessary.

Next, pat your potato dry and begin to coat your image with a paint brush and some acrylic paint. Coat evenly and stamp away. Remember, if you are creating letter make sure that they are backwards so that when you stamp the read the correct way!

Use a hole punch and some raffia or ribbon to dress up your treat bag, fill with goodies and gift to your neighbors, guests and friends! Happy fall Milwaukee!