Vegetable stamping: How to make simple, modern prints with produce
There are so many reasons to try fruit and vegetable stamping: It’s surprisingly creative. It’s easy. It uses stuff you have on hand. Kids can play, too. And making simple prints with fruits, veggies and acrylic paint is a chance to explore creating textures and patterns.
So gather some friends and/or the kids and raid the produce section, then try these vegetable stamping techniques for yourself—it’s a perfect summer project!
Inspired? Create and share by tagging @HallmarkStores.
More on why you should try vegetable stamping
We’ve got a whole garden full of reasons we love this craft (minus the dirt and bugs 😊):
- It gives you the most fun incentive ever to stock up on fruits and vegetables. Brussels sprouts might not be the typical highlight of your week, but knowing you’ve got a creative craft to do with them could change that, especially if little ones are involved.
- Speaking of little ones, this is the perfect way to get them excited about fruits and vegetables. Not only is this craft easy enough for them to help, but it might make unfamiliar veggies seem less scary and less likely to be given the stink eye at the dinner table.
- It’s an inexpensive way to explore your crafty side. Creative hobbies can be costly, especially when you’re not sure how much time and money you want to invest in a new endeavor long-term. That’s why we love crafts like this one; the materials are easy to find and you get to explore your inner artist.
- Versatile is an understatement. We focused on some of our favorite summer produce this time, but you can do this activity in any weather or season. See link in the gray box below!
- It’s a creative rut antidote. If you already do consider yourself quite creative, this is a fun way to switch it up from your usual craft and get inspired by something unconventional.
- You can make DIY home decor. Use the patterns you stamp to create fun, colorful seasonal art at a fraction of the cost versus what you’d find at local stores.
- It’s a way to get really cool textures and patterns that you can’t achieve with a brush or sponge. If you’re working on a project and don’t have the time or money to grab new materials, you might already have what you need in the fridge!
Supplies for vegetable stamping
- Cutting board
- Very, very sharp knife (a dull knife will make your details mushy; keep it out of kid reach!)
- Vegetables (try radishes, artichokes, carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms, peppers, okra, lettuce, corn, kale)
- Fruit (apples, oranges, melons, kiwi)
- Plant clippings
- Acrylic paint
- Tray, acetate sheet, or paper
- Ink brayer, glass or plexiglass (a brayer helps you get an even coat on the surface of large items)
- Ink pad (for covering small items with ink, instead of using a brayer)
- Paint brush (for adding paint to the surface of items, instead of using a brayer)
- Paper for prints
Pro tip: You can also use fabric paint and stamp T-shirts, tote bags or tea towels. Cuuuuute!
How to make fruit and vegetable prints
Step 1: Prep the fruits and veggies.
Cut your fruits and vegetables into pieces. Try cutting at different angles to get different details. Use the whole thing, inside and out, including leaves. We’re serious about the sharp knife, too—it’ll give you the best details.
Step 2: Cover the veggies with paint.
Add a bit of paint to a tray, acetate sheet, or paper, then roll the brayer in paint to cover it. Next, roll the brayer across the surface of your fruit or vegetable.
Step 3: Stamp your designs.
Press the paint-covered fruit or veg onto your paper and repeat. That’s it!
If you’re wanting to create a more intentional design, here are some fun ideas to try:
- Try a single color on one or two shapes and stamp in a grid.
- To create a pattern, simply stamp, then turn your shape 180 degrees and stamp again.
- Try a single big, simple shape in the center of a piece of paper, like a big kale leaf.
- Layer shapes and colors to make abstract images.
- Play with the ways you add paint to the fruits or vegetables—roll it on, paint it on—and how much paint you add.
- Cut simple designs into the surfaces of potatoes, turnips or carrots.
We hope you’re ready to start experimenting with your own fruit and vegetable stamping fun—or at the very least, that you have a newfound appreciation for how cool fruits and vegetables are. 😂
Hungry for even more arts, crafts & DIYs? Check these out:
Shop Summer
See allYou may also like
See more-
Gifting Grandparent gift ideas they’ll love and remember
Here are some tips and suggestions for grandparent gifts—what you can give to the persons who give so much to us.
-
Faith Joanne Eschrich: Angels Everywhere
Hallmark Artist Joanne Eschrich's belief in the angels around us inspired her collection for Hallmark Gold Crown stor...
-
Care & Concern How to support friends with anxiety and depression
Advice on what to say and how to support friends with anxiety and depression directly from people who went through it.
-
Care & Concern How to support a friend with cancer or serious illness
What to say and how to support friends with cancer or a serious illness directly from people who went through it.
-
Halloween Halloween treat boxes
Download these fun Halloween printables to make your own little monsters—Halloween treat boxes, we mean.
-
Easter History of Easter
Learn about the history of Easter, including the origin of the Easter Bunny and Easter egg traditions plus other inte...
-
Faith How to be a godparent
Honored? Humbled? Terrified? Here’s a few must-have tips on how to be a godparent whether you’re preparing for a bapt...
-
Breakfast Chinese five spice donuts
With their warm, spicy-sweet flavors, these Chinese five spice donuts will disappear from your breakfast table in no ...
-
Appetizer & Snacks Lemon ricotta bruschetta
Put a little zest in your bruschetta. Our deliciously different lemon ricotta bruschetta offers a tasty twist on trad...
-
Dessert Baby shower dessert: Diaper strawberry tarts
Planning a baby shower dessert or baby's first birthday party? These little diaper strawberry tarts are sure to get a...
-
Appetizer & Snacks Halloween bone breadsticks
These Halloween bone breadsticks are a great example of taking an everyday favorite and reimagining it as a creepy Ha...
-
Appetizer & Snacks Ham and cheese crescent rolls
These ham and cheese crescent rolls are flaky, filled with ham and cheese goodness and a fun alternative to classic d...
-
Dessert Homemade blueberry pie
Homemade blueberry pie provides the perfect finale to a Fourth of July celebration or any other occasion. Bursting wi...
-
Dessert Raspberry buckle
A buckle is so named because the top buckles when it cooks. It is a type of cake with fruit dropped into the batter. ...
-
Dessert Raspberry linzer cookies
Linzer cookies are fruit tarts in cookie form. Our raspberry linzer cookies feature a raspberry jam filling and a dai...
-
Dessert Penguin ice cream bars
To make our fun penguin ice cream bars, you do more assembling than cooking, which makes it a great holiday activity ...
-
Dessert Peanut butter spiders
Looking for a fun, creative and creepy treat for your loved ones this Halloween? Look no further. Our peanut butter s...
-
Drinks White hot chocolate
Warm your insides with our yummy white hot chocolate. With bits of white chocolate, milk, half-and-half, vanilla extr...