Stamping with Okra…Yes, Okra!
Here’s a little craftiness for you crafty gardeners…stamping with okra! Yes…okra! When you cut off the head of the okra there is such a charming and unique shape to be found inside the rough, elongated exterior that makes for an adorable stamp. So if your garden is producing way too much okra that you just can’t eat it fast enough or if you let a few okra stay on the plant one day too long and they grow ginormous and too tough to eat…then why not cut some up and get crafty with them…and make some adorable notecards, gift tags or bookmarks with some okra stamps.
The girls and I had fun yesterday experimenting with this okra stamping idea. Here’s what we did…
We gathered some kraft paper, some plain white notecards, and some kraft gift tags…as well as some ink pads of various colors. We ended up only using the red, white and green for our projects, but any colors would work. I especially liked how the white ink looked on the craft paper. You can also use paint instead of stamp pads….whatever you have on hand.
Next we cut the okra. We cut them just below the ridge of the head. Make sure to cut it as straight as possible so your stamp will be level…giving you an even surface to stamp with. I found that you can use either end of the piece of the okra to stamp with; however, I tended to use the head end more because there were no seeds in that part and it just made for a more open design. However Brown-Brown liked using the long end because it had more of a handle to hold onto…just make sure if you are using the long end of the okra that there aren’t seeds blocking the holes, as you want open spaces to create each unique design.
Then you just blot the cut edge of the okra in the ink pad and do some trial stamps on a scrap piece of paper to experiment with how much ink you need, how hard to press down, etc. I would suggest using one piece of okra per stamp pad color so that you don’t mix the inks. One other tip to pass along…make sure to stamp on a firm surface and with even pressure. Once you get the hang of it you can start stamping your various papers and creating some adorable paper products.
Don’t feel like you have to do anything too planned with this…just have fun with it. The less structure I had with some of my designs the better they turned out. Consider having some stamps fall off the edge or maybe have some overlap each other. Choose a single color or mix colors or highlight one image in a different color in the midst of all the others. Let loose with this and get creative! It’s a fun and easy activity for kids and adults of all ages. We were quite pleased with how great our projects turned out!
I buy packs of solid white folded notecards and envelopes, as well as the pre-made kraft gift tags at my local craft store…they are good crafting staples to have on hand. To make the bookmark, I simply cut strips of 8.5” x 11” kraft paper into 2” strips and then after stamping them, I punched a hole in the top and looped some twine through to make a cute bookmark!
Enjoy getting crafty with your okra this next week! I think you’ll be surprised at how fun it is and the endless possibilities of creativity you can come up with using this adorable little stamp found inside an okra. Isn’t Creation full of little treasures!
Take care and I hope you have great weekend,
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Genius! I’ve been on the hunt for some alternatives to frying, and this is way fun!
Glad you like Momma Micah! And congrats by the way on your bambino!! BTW, I wasn’t much of an okra fan (all the snot just wasn’t that appetizing to me for some reason)…anyhoo, that is until Britt’s friend shared recipe where you saute it. If you’re interested, Britt did a post on it a few weeks ago. Here ’tis: https://redeemyourground.com/okra-recipe/. Take care friend, D.
THE CUTEST! Can’t wait to try, who would have thought! Marvelous creations! just love it!
Brender…T’ain’t it cute. Pretty amazing actually. Cheers, D.
Love this and will definitely share!
Awesome…thank Hazel. I think Britt is going to do another post or two on how she has used veggies and other outdoor materials to make some pretty cool stamped art. So stay tuned. Thanks again for your comment and I hope you have a nice long weekend. Take care, D.
Try steaming your okra. No slime, and almost a sweet taste.
Thanks Jan! Yea…no…me no like slime. We’ll have to try your steamed approach. If you didn’t see Britt’s post on sauteed okra…check it out: https://redeemyourground.com/okra-recipe/. It’s become our family’s favorite. Thanks for you comment…and I hope you have a great weekend. Take care, D.
I love this! I have a whole line of paintings on Etsy on the theme of fruit and vegetable stamped art! Check it out! I’ll try okra next!
Thanks so much for your comment Catherine and providing your Etsy web address. Britt and I took a look at your work…very cool! I look forward to seeing what you can do with okra!! Take care and I hope you have a great weekend, D.
Thanks so much!
http://Www.zanyviolets.etsy.com
love the idea but in my opinion, there is never TOO MUCH okra!
Thanks Dela! And NOW I can agree with you about there never being too much okra. It was really one of only a few veggies I didn’t care for…but now Britt has found a few recipes that I love. She honestly gets frustrated w me now bc I tend to eat too much of it while she’s fixing it to have any left over for dinner!!! Thanks for your comment…so appreciate your chiming in. Take care, D.
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I did this when I was a kid…and now my son is doing it for school projects.
Love it…thanks for sharing Paula! Our girls love projects like this…we all love gardening, and Britt has a thing for paper/stationary…so this okra stamping project is a favorite of our family’s. Thanks again for your comment. Take care, D.
Perfection, this is. We buy a garden box from a local grower that contains okra every week. We’ve been giving it to neighbors since we’re not okra eaters. Now, I’m keeping a couple of those back for my boys. And for me.
Rhonda…thanks so much for chiming in…and so sorry I’m just getting back with you. For some reason your comment got thrown into our spam folder. DOH! So cool about your weekly delivery of fresh veggies…for so many reasons…family, healthy, local, sharing! I can’t say that I’ve participated with any of the okra stamping that happens over here at casa de Scott…but Britt and our girls love it. It’s fun and it allows them to use some of their creative juices for things that they too can share (cards, bookmarks, etc.).
So you say y’all aren’t okra eaters…I wasn’t either. Seriously, okra and olives were 2 things I swore would never eat. Okra more from a consistency perspective (not a big fan of snot) and olives from a taste perspective. But…BUT…that has all changed now with just one recipe…Britt’s sauteed okra. Seriously, she has a tough time having enough left to bring to the table after I’ve goggled them up on my drive-by snacking. You really should try it out…and if y’all still don’t like it…keep on stamping and sharing the okra love. (Here’s the link: https://redeemyourground.com/okra-recipe/ . )
Thanks again Rhonda and take care, D.
Thanks, Scott. Maybe, maybe I’ll try okra sometime. For now, I’m going to stamp on…
Too funny…I definitely appreciate your hesitancy. If Britt hadn’t made it, I certainly wouldn’t have found myself making any okra…much less putting it in my mouth! Take care, D.
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