A crafty exploration with #DerektheDino and #PeggyThePony!

It is a certain thing that through the summer holidays us parents have our work cut out. We fill the endless summer days with outings and adventure, but sometimes you do just need to stay at home. You can't go out everyday can you?

We all always look to the art box then for inspiration but if you are anything like me you are praying they don't empty the glitter onto the floor and that you can untangle the millions of pipe cleaners into strands you can actually try and make something with.

I must say, potato printing is not anything I have ever done with our kids, but on that morning while I watched kids TV and had only drunk half a cup of my morning tea I felt inspired to see if I could make one. Why? I suppose curiosity! I had been thinking about doing a craft thing that didn't revolve around the usual and it just came to me. And as the children had some fancy new back packs and they were thoroughly enjoying playing with some vintage cameras we had, I decided that maybe our stay at home day was actually going to lead us on an exploration into the unknown (back garden) following the potato printed trail of dinos and ponies (we were wishing for unicorns)!

I suppose when it comes to carving up a potato to print, every memory I could recall was being used! I cut the potato in half and I drew a shape which I felt resembled a dino footprint and a hoof. I used a pen to outline then cut into the outline with a knife, following the pen marks. I then started to slice thinly, like layers only up to where my outlines foot print shape was. Sounds complicated but the pictures make it more obvious!

As soon as the prints were raised enough we got out the paints, and I just fished out two cereal boxes from the recycling bin. We actually painted the stamps; with the kids it was just a bit less messy and it made sure the coverage was good, then we stamped away!

Once they were dry I drew around them with a black marker to really make the shape visible and I cut them out. All that was left to do was pack up the bags with supplies and cameras and head out to see where the foot prints lead!

What is lovely about these kind of craft projects is that once the 'adult' bit is done you can pretty much sit back and watch a child's imagination come to life. It was like a new toy, a prop to another game. The kids pretty much needed no input from me, they made their own fun which really is what it is all about. What a perfect way to spend a summer's day!

Watching them fill and empty their bags of footprints was brilliant. These new back packs from Cath Kidston are just perfect, with the easy opening and zip bottom for extra toys, the kids just carted them around with ease. Perfect for the holidays but also, I think Raph will be taking his to school in the new term. I also think the prints are fab. Raph loves dinasours and Etta is so into unicorns, that ponies to her are like the same thing! She was so excited when I produced the bag from a big cardboard box, as well as a pencil case and notebook; I couldn't resist the new 'back to school' items!!

Did you know that you can also join in with Cath Kidston from 15th to the 29th August by crafting your own #DerekTheDino or #PeggyThePony and sharing them to twitter or instagram and tagging Cath Kidston in them. How creative can you get? You could paint a dino or make one out of playdough! Make sure to upload a picture and visit the website to see all the crafts.

For us, potatoes may very well be our new tools for making fun, they worked perfectly and created hours of fun for the kids!