donut pan idea no. 35: printed wrapping paper

All of the projects we're doing for 101 Donut Pan Ideas are just that, ideas. Concepts. Concepts that sometimes are better on paper then, well, on PAPER. The idea to use the pans to make prints has been on our list a long time, although I will give a shout out to my brilliant friend Erika for also thinking of it (you should totally check her out, I love her brain). 

The final product is slightly less elegant than I would've liked, but it is still a nice idea, and with the right craftsperson and maybe a different medium (fabric paint and a tea towel?) the prints could be pretty cool. That said, on day four of Holiday Donut Pan Idea Week I give to you: printed wrapping paper!

You will need kraft (or other) paper, some potatoes, poster or acrylic paint, a few donut pans, tin foil and a baking sheet. I think a nicer and quicker drying product can be had by using acrylic paint, but I was housebound due to a rainstorm the day I made these and used what I had around. Definitely try to use acrylic for the potato printing parts, if you can.

It's all pretty simple! Spread paint for donut pans on foil covered baking sheet using the back of a spoon or an offset spatula. The paint should be around 1/8" thick, but play around. Place the back of the pan (or maybe the front of the pan, if you're feeling adventurous) in the paint. You can either lift the pan directly back up, or scootch it around a bit to pick up a little more paint. Experiment to see what you like best.

Press the pan paint side down firmly on the paper. Repeat over entire area you are working on, making sure to space the pans so that the pattern looks continuous. I was not entirely successful at this!

In some areas I came back and did a second print slightly offset from the first, to make a thicker ring for the wreaths.

So you've got a page full of snowy wreaths! The white poster paint dried pretty quickly, so I was able to go on to this next step right away.

Cut a bow shape (or whatever you'd like) out of half of a potato. Rub into a plate of acrylic paint (I used red) and then print the bows randomly on some (or all, or just a few) of the wreaths.

Repeat the whole process with green! I was impatient, so the green wasn't fully dry when I printed them with bows, but they came out fine.

How about some holly berries? Use a pencil eraser!

I also got crazy and made snowflakes. I cut a potato like shown below and started printing.

Before you knew it I had a blizzard. Would you have been able to tell they are snowflakes if I hadn't told you?

My brother's gifts are all wrapped and headed to New Hampshire in this stuff. I hope he doesn't think I've lost my mind! Happy wrapping!