PTI Blog Hop: Seed Paper Cards

It's once again time for the monthly blog hop sponsored by PaperTrey Ink. Tonight we are sharing projects for spring. Every year when the weather begins to turn warmer I start getting the urge to play in the dirt... I mean garden. I also always wanted to try papermaking. Combine the two and you get.............(drum roll)
Seed paper!
I found a couple different recipes here and here, but I ended up just making it up as I went. It was royally messy. And fun.

For my first batch I just used shredded newspaper (we have a paper shredder) blended up with lots of water in a blender. This made a nice greyish vomit-looking substance. Lovely. Now's the time to toss in your favorite herb/vegetable/flower seed and stir. Don't blend the seeds! I then poured the runny pulp onto a screen stretched over a frame (my dad made the screen/frame for me, but I think they sell them in craft stores?). Oh yeah- hold the screen over a Rubbermaid container to catch the excess water while you pour. Then **gently** press out a little more water with your hands (this feels weird!). After the water completely stops dripping, leave the paper pulp to dry for about 24 hours on the screen. Then carefully plop the homemade paper off of the screen and onto a piece of felt to dry for 2 more days in a warm-ish place.

So this doesn't exactly make paper, but more of a cardboard. Like the grey paper egg cartons in grocery stores. I scored mine and pulled apart into ~3" squares. My first batch contained a wildflower seed mix.



To present the seed paper as a gift, I came up with a pocket card using Green Thumb, Flower Garden Sentiments, and Simple Alphabet. I used a 1" circle punch to cut a little halfmoon notch at the open end.

I ended up making 2 more batches of paper, this time using shredded white copy paper, green tissue paper, and some Ripe Avocado cardstock scraps, to get something similar to a Spring Moss color. It looked just like guacamole in the blender! I added poppy seeds (for planting, not eating) to one batch and basil seeds to the other.



I made little tags for the seed paper squares with my Marvy mega scalloped circle punch and Making Memories slot punch. A glue dot where the ribbon comes together keeps it loosely wrapped around the square. A button tied on with floss will serve as a pull.





See how I have the type of seed spelled so neatly in a curve at the tops of the tags? I punched a 1.5" circle from scrap paper and used it as a guide when placing the letters on my block, so I got perfect concentricity (is that a word?).







So I think these would make cool Easter, Mother's Day, or shower favors. I plan to print instructions for planting and include those in the card. I'm just not sure what those instructions are, at the moment. I'm thinking just lay the paper on cultivated garden or potting soil, lightly cover with soil, water and keep moist until the seeds sprout. Maybe I should try planting one and see if it actually grows before I give these away!



Thanks for stopping by!
Mindy

Supplies
Cardstock- Kraft, Pure Poppy, Berry Sorbet, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate
Ink- Pure Poppy, Berry Sorbet, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate, True Black
(Creamy Brown - Colorbox chalk ink for distressing edges)
Stamps: Green Thumb, Flower Garden Sentiments, Simple Alphabet, Faux Ribbon (brackets)
Buttons - American Crafts
Ribbon - Spring Moss Swiss Dot, Dark Brown satin ribbon from Big Lots