St. Patrick's Day Ideas: Shamrock Pepper Stamp Craft

Make this shamrockin' stamp for St. Patrick's Day.

Submitted by
Kayla Chong

Your kid might not touch a bell pepper at dinnertime, but just try keeping his hands off of one while you're making this clever craft for a great St. Patrick's Day idea. If only painted veggies were edible, you might actually be able to reach that five-servings-a-day USDA recommendation!

Stamper:
Your kid.
Bell pepper:
Pick up a green one in honor of St. Paddy's Day (plus, they're usually cheaper than red or yellow peppers).
Green tempera paint and a paintbrush
Paper plate
Construction paper
Knife
Embellishments:
Like glitter, stickers, etc.

Slice off the top half of a bell pepper and remove the seeds and inner skin, leaving the rim clean.
Pour some green tempera paint onto a paper plate.
Hand your kid a pepper half and have him dip it into the paint and press it onto a folded piece of construction paper to make a shamrock design. Each time he stamps, he'll get a perfect shamrock shape.
Encourage him to dip and stamp and continue adding shamrocks to the paper until he's happy with the design.
When he's done stamping shamrocks, help him paint a little stem on the bottom of each one.
Let the paint dry.
Have him add some glitter or stickers to jazz it up a bit. He can fill the shamrocks in with paint or outline them with glitter.
Next, help him write a St. Paddy's Day greeting inside the fold of the card, like the old Irish saying, "May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go."
When your kid is finished, toss out the peppers. You don't want the painted peppers to end up in your salad!
His shamrock cards will make great greetings for teachers or grandparents, but if he's really pleased with his handiwork, they're also a great St. Patrick's Day idea for window or fridge decorations during the holiday.