We like to play German games. Also called designer games or hobby games, German games involve more logic and strategy than traditional party games like Monopoly, Life or Pictionary, which depend more on luck than strategy. We try to get together with friends at least once a month or so to play games like Settlers of Catan, Carcossonne, San Juan, Babel, Alhambra, but sometimes it can be hard to find other people to play with. It is nice to know that there are others out there in cyberspace playing these games and even people who are doing a little DIY board game design and “pimping their German games”.

Yeah, potatoes! Remember making potato prints when you were a kid? It was a pretty cool way to make art. It still is. And now that you’re all grown up, you can make grown up potato prints, which are even better!

Potato prints are stamped art made from a carving you created on a cut-up potato.

You’ll need just a few simple supplies like potatoes, of course - the bigger, the better. Paint of your choice…tempera or acrylic for papers, fabric-friendly paint for cloth, latex or oil for walls, wood. Experiment! Stains and inks work well too, but result in a completely different way. You’ll need a sharp knife, possibly carving tools if you plan on getting fancy with your design. Cookie cutters make great templates, too. You’ll also need something to stamp your design onto to…paper, wood, etc. Oh, and the obvious miscellaneous things needed when painting - water, brushes, sponges.

 To begin, cut your potato in half either horizontally or vertically, exposing the flesh. Then, trace a design, similar to how you would trace a design on a pumpkin - use the pin prick method, a tool, a pencil, anything that works so that you can see your tracing. Then, carefully cut away the negative sections of the design, leaving a relief of your art. Or, you can also cut away the positive sections so that you have an outline of you art.

Dry the potato as much as possible and apply your paint with a brush or sponge. Then, you’re ready to stamp, stamp, stamp!

And sure, your potato won’t last more than a day, but you can preserve your stamp forever by stamping the design on a white piece of paper with black ink. Once it dries, you can then scan the art into your computer and use it again and again.

If you’re loving the idea of potato prints, but the thought of making them isn’t exactly spudtacular, you can hop on over to Sweet Potato Prints and purchase some of their cute-as-a-button potato print clothing for your tots! Here’s some of their fun products:

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Posted by the Crafty Folks at Anna Bella Fine Stationery.

I’m thinking of painting a mural in my office…I’ve never done anything like that before, but I figure how hard can it be.  I would like to do a very simple abstract hibiscus  design, like these.  I also found some very straightforward instructions.  It kinda seems almost too easy–I will probably knock over the paint onto the rug or something.