Craft with Kids -- Stamping!

My daughter is into stamping at the moment. I bought her a sweet little stamp of a birdy from Tiger Tribe a while back, and whenever I pull it out (which I try not to do more than every week or so, so it's exciting every time) she goes nuts with it, stamping it over and over and over again for an hour at a time onto bits of paper. Stamping is a great, inexpensive art activity for kids; less messy than paint and entertains much longer than stickers! I've been meaning for ages to get her some new stamps, perhaps this one but in the meantime I came across this too-cool stamping idea using little more than a few old pencils and an ink pad!

image from here

Imagine the possibilities! I love this idea so much I think I might have to have a go myself, and I know Fern will be up for it. Her preschool teacher took me aside today to show me a painting Fern had laboriously worked on; spending a good half hour with a tiny paintbrush, meticulously filling in the template long after the other little kids had moved on to other activities. A tiny bit obsessive compulsive perhaps (like her mum) but Fern is starting to demonstrate some real aptitude toward art... which I want to foster and encourage!

I only have one (red and pink) ink pad, so I need to go find myself some more bright colours, and then Fern and I are going to go to town with this project! I'm thinking a little canvas stamped using this technique would be really cute... will show you what we come up with! x