I did it — I finally finished Clara’s closet stamping project (the one I started here). And yes, as the title hints, I made a potato stamp. It turned out to be surprisingly fun and nearly free. The entire project cost me just 99 cents for a tube of Folk Art metallic paint in Champagne, plus two potatoes we already had on hand.
My first idea was a $1 rubber stamp from Michael’s, but the pattern was too fine and didn’t read well on the wall (it looked slightly better in photos). After that I tried a few freehand painted options — imperfect horizontal lines, X’s, and rows of dots made by pressing a small craft brush against the wall — but none of those felt quite right for the space.
Next I experimented with potato stamps, carving a few simple shapes freehand: a wonky quatrefoil-like motif, a star, and a honeycomb-ish hexagon. For the bottom-right design I copied a Pinterest find and used the top of a salad dressing bottle as a guide to carve a circle, then cut small pizza-slice slivers around the edge to create a starburst effect.
I also tried the celery-rose technique I found on Pinterest, cutting a stalk of celery to stamp a floral-like pattern. After carving and preparing all my stampers, I tested each one on paper with the Champagne metallic paint to see which read best.
Our favorite was the small starburst circle stamp, so I took it into the closet to try it on the wall. I learned that brushing paint onto the potato with a small craft brush worked much better than stamping the potato into a shallow dish of paint. Brushing allowed me to remove excess and avoid globs for a cleaner impression. The metallic paint catches the light beautifully — soft and pretty from certain angles.
After about an hour I had stamped the wall with the door and part of the adjoining wall before pausing for Clara’s nap. She loved what I’d done when she woke up, which made me eager to finish. The next morning, though, the potato had softened overnight and lost some firmness. It wasn’t unusable, just sponge-like, so I adjusted my technique: I gently rocked my wrist back and forth and up and down as I pressed so the starburst tips would all make contact. It worked, and once I got into a rhythm the repetitive motion was oddly soothing.
I stamped roughly 500 impressions, spacing each about 5 inches apart and arranging them in staggered horizontal rows so the pattern reads like a series of chevrons if you connect the marks. The process took patience but felt meditative, and while some DIY tasks are tedious, this one hit a pleasant groove for me.
As I stamped, I found myself reflecting on the past 15 months with our little bean — the hilarious blowouts, first words, lost socks, restaurant meltdowns, and every messy, wonderful parenting moment in between. Two hours passed in a comforting mix of work and memories.
When the paint dried and I gave Clara access again, she was thrilled. She pointed at each shiny stamp and squealed “stah!” (her word for star), which made the whole project feel totally worth it.
The total time for the project — including testing different stamp methods and two stamping sessions — was about three and a half hours. The result is a subtly metallic, handmade-feeling reading nook that already feels cozy and special.
Next I reinstalled the white shelving that had been removed before painting, then filled the closet with Clara’s clothes, toys, and blankets. I added a fluffy faux sheepskin rug and some pillows we had, plus a few of her board books on the low shelves to make a child-friendly corner.
I still want to DIY a beanbag for the space — I’ve pinned plenty of tutorials — but it’s adorable as-is and Clara loved testing it out. As for John’s reaction, our little conversation went like this:
Me: It’s cool, huh? What do you think?
John: Yeah, it’s really Sweet Sixteen in there.
Me: What does that mean? Cheesy? Over the top?
John: No, you know… (long pause)… expensive. Like the Louis Vuitton cakes they get. It’s really cool.
Sherry: Huh? (equally long pause) This might be our strangest conversation to date.
We all love the finished closet, and I’m still a little amazed at how much difference 99 cents and a few hours made (more if you count the earlier closet-painting phase). Going old-school with a potato stamp brought back middle-school memories and offered a looser, more forgiving approach than stenciling. You don’t have to line anything up perfectly or worry about smudges — you simply eye the spacing and press. The result looks like handmade wallpaper: imperfect, and exactly right for a child’s cozy nook.
This project is one of my favorite solo efforts in the new house because it feels like a small, personal gift from me to Clara. And somehow John’s comparison to a fancy cake only adds to its charm. Sometimes the smallest, simplest projects end up feeling the most meaningful.