I did it — I finally finished Clara’s closet stamping project (the one I started here)! And yes, as the title reveals, I made a potato stamp. It was actually really fun and nearly free. The entire project cost me just $0.99 for one tube of FolkArt metallic paint in Champagne, plus two potatoes I already had on hand.
My first idea — a $1 rubber stamper from Michael’s — didn’t translate well on the wall because the pattern was too fine. In photos it looked okay, but up close the detail vanished. So I tried a few freehand paint attempts: imperfect horizontal lines, X’s (kisses), and rows of tiny dots made by pressing a small craft brush to the wall.
For the potato stamps I experimented with a few simple shapes — an imperfect quatrefoil-like motif, a star, and a hexagon with hive-like lines. One of the designs was inspired by a Pinterest pin: I carved a circle (using the top of a salad dressing bottle as a guide) and then cut small slivers around it to form a starburst or asterisk-like pattern.
I also tried the classic celery-rose stamp technique I’d seen on Pinterest just to see how it would print on paper and on the wall.
Before committing to the wall, I tested each stamper on paper with the FolkArt metallic Champagne paint to check how the shapes read. Some worked better than others, and the starburst circle emerged as our favorite.
When I moved to the closet wall, I found the stamping worked best when I brushed paint onto the potato with a small craft brush instead of dipping the potato into a plate of paint. Brushing let me remove excess paint and avoid blobs.
The Champagne color has a soft metallic sheen that catches light beautifully from certain angles.
After about an hour I’d stamped the door and part of the adjacent wall, but I paused for Clara’s nap. When I returned the next morning, my potato stamp had softened overnight and lost some firmness. It wasn’t ruined — more sponge-like than solid — so I adjusted my technique: I gently rocked the potato back and forth and up and down as I pressed to get the starburst tips to print evenly. It still worked.
I pressed that potato into the wall hundreds of times. Surprisingly, the repetition was soothing. I fell into a rhythm: brush paint on, press while rocking my wrist, move over a few inches, repeat. I eyeballed the spacing so each stamp sits roughly 5 inches from the next, arranged in staggered horizontal rows that create a subtle zig-zag or chevron effect when imagined as connecting lines.
While I stamped, I listened to old songs and thought about the last almost-15 months with Clara — the milestones, the messy moments, and everything in between. Two hours flew by, and once the paint dried and I let Clara back into the closet, she was delighted. She pointed out every shiny stamp and squealed “stah!” (her word for star).
The whole project — including earlier experiments with rubber stamps and other materials, plus two stamping sessions — took about three and a half hours. It felt totally worth it for the subtle, metallic reading nook we created inside the closet.
Next I reinstalled the white shelving we had removed before painting and filled the space with Clara’s clothes, toys, and blankets. I added a fluffy faux sheepskin rug from Ikea, some pillows, and a few board books on the low shelves to make a cozy, child-sized corner.
I still want to DIY a beanbag for the nook, but it’s already pretty sweet. Clara tested the space and loved it.
John’s reaction was priceless. When I asked if he liked it he said, “Yeah, it’s really Sweet Sixteen in there.” After a pause he clarified that he meant it looked expensive, like one of those fancy Louis Vuitton celebration cakes. We all laughed — it may have been an odd way to describe it, but everyone’s a fan.
I’m a little surprised too: for $0.99 and a few hours, the closet went from plain to special. Stamping a wall with a simple handmade tool has a relaxed, slightly imperfect quality that feels like handmade wallpaper. It’s one of my favorite small projects in the new house — a tiny, personal gesture for Clara that turned into something she truly enjoys.